In Murmansk, people in masks came to the editorial office of the publication "Arctic Observer", editor Vyacheslav Gorodetsky managed to report this.
"Judging by the masks, it's the FSB. I'll switch off and let you know how things are going," he wrote.
It is unknown what the security forces' visit is connected with.
21:50 Vyacheslav Gorodetsky was released after the search, he himself told about this in a circle on the editorial office's Telegram channel.
It is not yet known whether the journalist was taken for questioning. He said that he had just returned home and promised to tell the details and reasons for the search later, as soon as he had collected his thoughts.
June 15 The newspaper's editorial office apparently underwent an inspection of the premises, not a search. Editor Vyacheslav Gorodetsky gave details of what happened.
Six security officers came to the editorial office. Some of the people were present at the inspection without uniform. The employees called them "representatives of the public", but the journalist believes that they are also representatives of law enforcement agencies. Gorodetsky was immediately threatened with the use of force and firearms in the event of resistance.
The reason for the security forces' visit was "certain information" that the editorial office was collecting data that may be related to state secrets. The law enforcement officers specified that they were talking about "sensitive information" about the progress of the war, including the number of mobilized and killed. The security forces inspected everything in the editorial office and confiscated computers and other electronic storage devices, after which they "politely invited" Gorodetsky to go with them to the FSB building. Their appearance made it clear that in case of refusal they were ready to use force to take the editor for questioning.
At the FSB, Gorodetsky was asked questions about why, for whom, and for what purpose the Arctic Observer was collecting information. The questions were repeated several times, the man was kept in the building until about eight in the evening, after which he was released with an inspection report and an inventory of the confiscated property.
The editor assumes that what happened was an act of intimidation. At the same time, he noted that he does not understand why the security forces showed up now, and not, for example, during the presidential campaign.
- In April 2023, searches were conducted at the editorial office of the Arctic Observer, and at the homes of Gorodetsky and journalist Dmitry Artemenko in connection with a criminal case on slander (Article 128 of the Criminal Code) due to a text about the purchase of unusable “warm bus stops”.