Sergey Sokolov, the editor-in-chief of the Russian media outlet Novaya Gazeta, was detained and handed an administrative fine on Thursday. According to a Moscow court, a Telegram post by the liberal online concern fell afoul of a ban on “discrediting” the coutry's army.
According to Novaya Gazeta, Sokolov was arrested on Thursday and taken to a police station in the Perovo District of Moscow, where he was presented with administrative charges.
Sokolov pleaded innocent and tried to postpone the court hearing, seeking to call as a witness the outlet’s former editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov – the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate whom Russia has declared a foreign agent. District Judge Olga Ashurova rejected his motion and found Sokolov guilty, handing him a 30,000 ruble ($327) fine.
The protocol describing his offense said that Novaya Gazeta had posted content in December 2023 that displayed “linguistic and psychological signs of speech discrediting the actions” of the Russian authorities. Moreover, the outlet’s continued publication – since it lost its license in September 2022 – was declared a violation in itself.
“Acknowledging the protocol, disagreeing with the circumstances stated in the protocol,” Sokolov wrote on the document.
According to Novaya Gazeta, the offending article was titled ‘Nobody’s Boys’ and spoke about the orphans who had signed enlistment contracts with the Russian military.