Russian police are searching the home of Sergei Sokolov, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Baza and RBC report, citing law enforcement sources.
RBC’s sources said the search is tied to a criminal case opened in the spring, though they did not specify which case.
Baza reported that the case involves the illegal use of personal data and that Novaya Gazeta columnist Oleg Roldugin is named in the case.
Update. Novaya Gazeta’s editorial staff report that Sergei Sokolov is being taken to the Investigative Committee for questioning after the search. A defense attorney is being sent to him.
Russian authorities arrested Oleg Roldugin on April 10, after searching Novaya Gazeta’s editorial office. Roldugin was charged under a statute covering the illegal use and storage of personal data by a group acting in a prior conspiracy. The BBC linked the persecution of the journalist to his running an anonymous Telegram channel called Bolshe, chem fakt (“More Than a Fact”), which published, among other things, information about business jet flights by Dmitry Medvedev, Alexei Mordashov, and Vladimir Yevtushenkov. Roldugin wrote about these flights in his own investigations. In early June, the journalist was transferred to house arrest.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.