Overview
- Novaya Gazeta director Sergei Sokolov was taken for questioning by the Investigative Committee after police searched his home and was released later the same day as a witness.
- Colleagues lost contact with Sokolov around midday, which prompted fears he would be detained, before the paper’s Telegram channel reported he had returned to the newsroom and was unharmed.
- Authorities said the questioning related to the case of investigative journalist Oleg Roldugin, who was arrested in April after a search of Novaya Gazeta’s offices and has faced charges over alleged illegal use of personal data.
- Sokolov has been under a separate judicial probe since spring over alleged unlawful use of personal data, and rights groups describe the actions as part of an ongoing campaign of legal pressure against the outlet.
- Novaya Gazeta has faced long-term state hostility, including a forced shutdown inside Russia after the Ukraine invasion and attacks on its staff, and this episode could further disrupt its ability to operate and raise the risk of new legal actions.