A criminal case was opened against PR specialist Yaroslav Shirshikov, who was the first to report the detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg.

Ural PR man Yaroslav Shirshikov, who was the first to report the disappearance of The Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich on March 29, has been charged with justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). The PR lawyer Fyodor Akchermyshev told about this to the publications Vecherniye Vedomosti and 66.ru.

The persecution of Shirshikov began after his post on the Hussar Bravado telegram channel. In it, Shirshikov wrote that he was “against [that] something exploded in cities and people died,” but at the same time he wished “glassy land” to the pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, “who wanted to kill and rob everyone, as he I loved". Tatarsky died in an explosion in a St. Petersburg cafe on April 2.

On the morning of April 18, Shirshikov's apartment was searched. After that, he was taken away for interrogation. Now Shirshikov has been detained, he is in a temporary detention center, where he will await trial to select a measure of restraint.

Yaroslav Shirshikov was the first to report the arrest of American correspondent Evan Gershkovich on March 29, who was later accused of spying for the United States. Shirshikov publicly criticized the version of the security forces, who claimed that the Wall Street Journal journalist was collecting data on Russian weapons. Shirshikov insisted that Gershkovich came to Yekaterinburg to learn more about the activities of the Wagner PMC and ask local residents how they feel about the war in Ukraine.

In 2020, Yaroslav Shirshikov was sentenced to seven months in a colony-settlement in the case of protests over the construction of a church on the site of a public garden in Yekaterinburg. Then he was found guilty of inciting riots and slander. In 2022, Shirshikov was fined under an article about “discrediting” the army because of his posts about the war in Ukraine.

Sources: "Vecherniye Vedomosti" , 66.ru

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