A journalist with the Russian edition of Forbes magazine has been detained on charges of spreading what Moscow views as false information about the Russian army, his lawyer said Friday.
Sergei Mingazov is being held in the southeastern Russian city of Khabarovsk, more than 8,000 kilometers from Moscow.
Konstantin Bubon, the journalist’s lawyer, said in a Facebook post that Mingazov was detained over social media posts he made about the Ukrainian city of Bucha, where Russian forces have been accused of massacring civilians before leaving in April 2022.
“In short, for reposting a publication about the events in Bucha” on a Telegram channel, Bubon said.
The Kremlin has banned criticism about its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, all but rendering independent coverage of the war illegal.
Forbes Russia said Friday that it has been unable to contact Mingazov.
Mingazov is set to appear in court on Saturday. If convicted, he faces 10 years behind bars.
Russia’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.
At the end of 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists ranked Russia fourth in the world in terms of journalist jailings, with 22 behind bars, including two Americans.
Alsu Kurmasheva, the American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who has been jailed in Russia since October 2023, is also facing charges of spreading what the Kremlin views as false information about the Russian military, as well as failing to self-register as a so-called “foreign agent.” She rejects the charges.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich has been jailed in Moscow since March 2023 on espionage charges that he and the U.S. government vehemently deny.
Some information in this report came from the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
