A Moscow court on Friday ordered the arrest in absentia of Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, whose cover of Bellingcat magazine angered Russia, the RIA news agency reported.
The court said Grosev crossed the Russian border illegally. RIA quoted a law enforcement source as saying that Gorozev is accused of facilitating the escape of Russian media editor Roman Dobrokhotov, who left Russia in 2021.
Friday’s order was issued three weeks after US journalist Ivan Gershkovitch was arrested on espionage charges.
Grosev investigated the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, and the downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine. Russia denies responsibility for any of these attacks.
Ukraine war reports
Grosev, the lead Russia investigator for Bellingcat, has also written about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Dobrokhotov works at The Insider, who has worked with Bellingcat on Russian projects.
After the court’s ruling, Grozev tweeted: “As Dobrokhotov said, why don’t they poison us in absentia and get rid of him.” »
Grosev conceals his whereabouts for security reasons. In December 2022, the Russian Interior Ministry put him on the wanted list, prompting an outcry from Bulgaria.
Separately, Interfax said the Russian Justice Ministry added Grozev to a list of foreign clients on Friday, accusing him of publishing “unreliable information about decisions made by public authorities.”
