Equipment and documents were confiscated from the Baza Telegram channel`s office. Investigators are reportedly pursuing a case of abuse of power against police officers suspected of sharing information with journalists. The media outlet`s editor-in-chief has been detained.
Updated at 18:45
Gleb Trifonov, editor-in-chief of the Baza Telegram channel, has been detained in a case involving alleged abuse of power by police officers, according to his lawyer. The Investigative Committee of Russia later confirmed his detention in a press release, adding that an unnamed colleague was also detained. Both are suspected of bribery and have been taken in for questioning.
Searches began at the Baza Telegram channel`s office in the morning, with law enforcement seizing phones, computers, and documents. Investigators initiated a criminal case concerning abuse of official authority by police officers who allegedly provided information to an unnamed Telegram channel. Law enforcement sources later informed TASS that the case is linked to Baza. Representatives for Baza stated that two of their journalists are currently unreachable, their legal status unknown. One female journalist from the outlet was taken to a police station, and all her equipment was confiscated.
Investigators likely suspect that journalists paid bribes to obtain sensitive and confidential information related to criminal cases. Fyodor Trusov, Managing Partner at Sokolov, Trusov & Partners law firm, commented on the situation:
Recently, a nearly identical case was opened, in my opinion, against Ura.ru, where journalists are also punished for any communication, one way or another related to information leaks from security forces. It`s clear that more or less normal content, generally what is of interest to civil society, can only be obtained by journalists through interaction with law enforcement officers. Sometimes this information is not intended for disclosure, or it`s information from criminal case materials for which, let`s say, all persons have signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding preliminary investigation data. And it`s clear that if journalists somehow obtain this information, one can then discuss whether they are committing some kind of offense. The scale of the investigative actions indicates a high level of coordination, which is clearly happening at the federal level. Therefore, undoubtedly, this is not just an illegal leak of information from a duty station. Most likely, they are trying to incriminate the Baza editorial office with something more.
— Fyodor Trusov, Managing Partner at Sokolov, Trusov & Partners law firm
In early June, searches were also conducted at the office of the Ural-based publication Ura.ru. A bribery case was initiated against its editor, Denis Allayarov, for allegedly bribing an official. Sources claimed that a former police officer might have provided Ura.ru with official information from daily reports in exchange for money. According to these sources, the ex-police officer became a suspect in a bribery case.
