11 Russian journalists from five regions were searched

Security forces searched 11 journalists in five Russian regions. Most of them are witnesses in the criminal case on fakes about the army against former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomaryov.

In the morning of September 8, the URALLIVE Telegram Channel reported that journalist Yulia Glazova from Tyumen, editor-in-chief of the Vechernie Vedomosti (‘evening news’) Media Outlet in Yekaterinburg Vladislav Postnikov, and journalist of RusNews Bella Nasibyan from Rostov-on-Don had been searched. During the day, it became known that journalist Sergei Nosov from Orel, the Orletz Telegram Channel’s administrator Viktor Zaryanov, and photographer Ruslan Sukhushin from Moscow had been searched. The investigative actions are connected with the criminal case on fakes about the Russian army against politician Ilya Ponomaryov and his Utro Fevralya (‘february morning’) Anti-War Project.

The project’s authors denied the information about the involvement of journalists in the Utro Fevralya Telegram channel’s activity. Ilya Ponomaryov said on Twitter that the police were "looking in the wrong place" and the project would continue working in 34 regions.

In addition, on September 8, security forces came with searches to four journalists and the head of the Odintsovo-INFO Portal. They are witnesses in a criminal case on fakes about the Russian army. Seven publications on the media outlet's website about the events in Ukraine were the reason for this.

After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the pressure on Russian journalists from the authorities and law enforcement agencies has intensified. The Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor) has blocked about 50 media websites within six months. According to human rights advocates from the Setevye Svobody (‘network freedoms’) Project, a total of 5.3 thousand Internet resources were subjected to military censorship. Journalists from Pskov (in the case on defamation of Governor Mikhail Vedernikov) and Arkhangelsk (in the case on participation in Alexei Navalny’s extremist community) were massively searched.

The Investigating Committee has opened criminal cases spreading fakes about the Russian army against journalists Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Krasilshchik, publicist Alexander Nevzorov, journalist Andrei Novashov from Kemerovo, etc. Hundreds of media workers have left the country under threat of criminal prosecution, and some media projects were closed. See here how the war has affected Russian journalism.

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