Masked officers from the Russian security forces entered the headquarters of the independent publication Novaia Gazeta in Moscow on Thursday, announced this newspaper, which has ceased its paper edition due to military censorship, but continues to exist online.
\”Around noon, agents with balaclavas entered the editorial office. We do not know the reason. (The masked men) do not allow the editorial lawyers to enter the headquarters, where some of the employees are also located,\” the journalists of Novaia Gazeta pointed out in social network posts, quoted by AFP, according to Agerpres.
An AFP journalist present at the scene observed that two vehicles of the Russian Investigative Committee – the body responsible for major investigations – were parked in the courtyard in front of the editorial office.
The searches are being conducted based on a criminal case targeting the “illegal use of personal data” in drafting “negative” articles about Russians, as reported by state agencies TASS and RIA Novosti.
Investigators are also probing this publication “including for links with Novaia Gazeta Europa and the Russian Anti-War Committee,” TASS specified, citing a source within the security forces.
Details, HERE