Reasons for the Visit to URA.RU: Two Causes of Searches and Arrests at the Ural Editorial Office
Scoop: Police Raid URA.RU Office in Yekaterinburg, Arrest Journalists
Thugs stormed the URA.RU office on Carl Libknecht Street in Yekaterinburg. They grabbed equipment and documents, confirmed by our source to our site.RU within security forces.
According to our source, they've snatched the chief editor of the Sverdlovsk region, Denis Allayarov, and crime correspondent Sergei Bodrov. However, the detention of the latter has been disputed.
"Sergey Bodrov is with me, he's not arrested. I'm talking to you from his apartment", - said our site.RU lawyer for the journalist George Krasnov.
Alongside them, unofficial information indicates, they've rounded up journalist Anna Salymskaya, who was also responsible for crime news.
Allayarov is set for a court hearing to determine restrictions on his freedom. This means criminal charges will be brought against him under Russia's criminal code. A woman was escorted out of the building, reported an office guard, where the editorial office is located.
Possible Reasons for the Arrests
- The thugs might be interested in how journalists were getting weekly internal MVD briefs. According to a source, staff at the publication could face real criminal responsibility for obtaining and using official information containing personal data, as per article 272.1 of the Russian Criminal Code. In March, police arrested a law enforcement officer selling briefs to journalists.
- The investigations could be linked to the funding of the publication in 2020 by the "Alliance of Doctors." In 2020, URA.RU's executive director, Mikhail Vyuggin, might have organized a trip to Yekaterinburg for a journalist from The Washington Times, Mark Bennet, in support of the "Alliance of Doctors" chairman[*].
URA.RU confirmed that the searches are related to MVD information about criminal incidents. They said that the searches are not only at the office but also at journalists' homes. Later, URA.RU confirmed the detention of Allayarov. He was denied access to a lawyer initially.
"There's no talk of doctor financing or other situations", - declared the publication.
Later, URA.RU reported that law enforcement officials used force against chief editor Diana Koslova. She was roughed up. Her lawyer is arranging for medical documentation. The authorities denied using force on the journalist, said our source to our site.RU.
URA.RU reported that law enforcement officials forced open Allayarov's phone and questioned him about photographs of the vice-governor Denis Pasleer and head of the MVD for the Sverdlovsk region, Alexander Meskov, which the journalist took while they were headed to work.
* recognized as a foreign agent
Authors: Dmitriy Antonennkov, Anna Mitchina
- The aggression towards URA.RU journalists might not only be about MVD information; it could also be linked to their sources, such as the "Alliance of Doctors," as suggested by the 2020 funding and trips organized for foreign journalists.
- Amidst the political climate, the arrests and interrogations of URA.RU's journalists, including Denis Allayarov and Diana Koslova, could extend to general news topics, as they were questioned about photographs of regional officials and alleged involvement in obtaining internal MVD briefs, which might invoke criminal charges as per article 272.1 of the Russian Criminal Code.
