Russian authorities are investigating a Moscow resident, allegedly the owner of a popular Telegram channel, for posting calls to terrorism

The Moscow Investigative Committee is reviewing Telegram channel Nexta Live for posting calls to terrorist activities, report both state broadcasting corporation RBC and online news outlet Baza.

According to an RBC source, the calls to terrorism appeared in March 2022. Investigators believe that the channel’s owner posted them.

Baza writes that a 27-year old Muscovite named Oleg S. is under investigation for his involvement with Nexta. RBC gives his surname as Seliverov. According to the Investigative Committee, a SIM card on which the Nexta Live Telegram channel was set up is registered to the person in question.

Baza reached the person under investigation, who said he has “absolutely no relationship with Nexta.” The publication adds that the man’s parents said the Investigative Committee searched their home, and that their son has not been home for several days.

The Nexta and Nexta Live Telegram channels became popular in Belarus during the 2020 protests against Alexander Lukahshenko. In May 2021, Nexta’s editor-in-chief, Roman Protasevich, who had previously fled Belarus, and his girlfriend, Russian graduate student Sofia Sapega, were arrested in Minsk after a flight they were on was forcibly diverted there. Sapega was later sentenced to six years in prison in Belarus.