The Russian Forbes journalist arrested in Khabarovsk is called Sergei Mingazov. He is accused of spreading “fakes” about the Russian army. His lawyer Konstantin Bubon reported this on Facebook. According to the lawyer, Mingazov is accused of having reposted an article about the Bucha events (a massacre that occurred in March 2022 as the Russian front advanced and aimed at Kiev) on his Telegram channel “Khabarovskaya Mingazeta”.
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Mingazov is in the Khabarovsk temporary detention center, according to reports Meduza, a Russian news site. The lawyer told the agency Rbc that Mingazov’s home was searched, after which he was taken to the Investigative Committee where he was told the charges formally. “They confiscated computers, phones, both from him and his wife, and the children’s phones and computers,” said lawyer Bubon. Tomorrow, the judges will decide whether or not to turn the detention into arrest.
Sergei Mingazov works for Forbes but previously collaborated with the business newspaper Vedomosti. The article of the Criminal Code on “fake news” about the army, as well as the article on the repeated “discredit” of the armed forces, were enacted after the invasion of Ukraine. According to media estimates, 132 people were convicted of “forgery” and “discredit”.
Only a few days ago, on April 23, Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov was also arrested in Russia. For him the scenario is very different: he is accused of criminal conspiracy to receive “large-scale bribes”, above one million rubles according to the Russian criminal code, although the exact amount is not known. He has declared himself innocent, but risks at least 15 years in prison.
