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A Moscow court on Friday ordered the arrest of Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, whose reporting for the Bellingcat news outlet had angered Russia, the RIA news agency said.
The court said Grozev had crossed the Russian border illegally. RIA cited law enforcement sources as saying that Grozev is accused of facilitating the escape of Roman Dobrokhotov, the editor of a Russian news outlet, who left Russia in 2021.
Friday’s order was issued three weeks after the arrest of US journalist Evan Gershkovich on spying charges.
Grozev has investigated the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and the downing of passenger plane MH17 in eastern Ukraine. Russia denied responsibility for the attack.
Ukraine war report
Grozev, the main Russia investigator for Bellingcat, has also reported on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Dobrokhotov works for The Insider, which cooperates with Bellingcat on the Russian project.
After the court order, Grozev tweeted: “As Dobrokhotov said, ‘Why don’t they just poison us in absentia and just get it over with.'”
Grozev hid his whereabouts for security reasons. In December 2022, the Russian interior ministry placed him on the wanted list, prompting protests from Bulgaria.
Separately, Interfax said Russia’s Justice Ministry on Friday added Grozev to its list of foreign agents, accusing him of spreading “unreliable information about decisions made by public authorities.”
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