Russian police raided the homes of several investigative journalists and their relatives on Tuesday, June 29, amid increased pressure from the authorities on independent media in Russia in recent months.
Read also: Euro: the German journalist persona non grata in Russia finally accredited
Proïekt, an independent site specializing in investigative journalism, announced on Tuesday that raids had taken place at its editor-in-chief Roman Badanine and one of its journalists, Maria Jolobova. Another journalist and deputy editor, Mikhail Roubine, was arrested while the police searched his parents' apartment, according to a statement published by this media on Telegram messaging. These searches come before the announced publication of an investigation into the alleged wealth of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, according to Proïekt. "
But we're going to publish it anyway,
" the site assured.
Roman Badanine appears as a suspect in a defamation case dating back to 2017, his lawyer Anna Bogatyriova told the independent TV channel Dojd. In 2017, this channel broadcast an investigation into a controversial businessman, Ilia Traber, who was allegedly linked to President Vladimir Putin. The investigation was filmed by Roman Badanine, editor-in-chief of Dojd at the time, Maria Jolobova and other journalists.
Russian police confirmed in a statement that searches were carried out in connection with this case, citing Roman Badanin and Maria Jolobova as the authors of this film.
However, the statute of limitations for this case expired in 2019, according to lawyer Pavel Tchikov, who heads the Agora human rights association.
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin "
knew the name
" of Ilia Traber, while ensuring that he did not know if there were any friendly or business ties between the two men.
Investigating the corruption of Russian elites
Founded in 2018, Proïekt is particularly known for its investigations into the corruption of Russian elites. One article claimed, for example, that controversial Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov had a second wife who owned property for hundreds of millions of rubles. Another assured that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a hidden daughter, whose mother would have made a fortune. The Kremlin has denied these claims.
Critics of power accuse the Russian authorities of having muzzled or suppressed the media during the two decades in power of Vladimir Putin. The latest examples to date, the well-known online media Meduza, based in Latvia, was declared in April "
foreign agent
", an infamous qualifier which implies heavy restraints and potential fines, which cut it from significant advertising resources. In June, another media outlet, VTimes, announced it was shutting down for fear of legal action after it was also classified as a “
foreign agent
”.
The authorities have also stepped up legal offensives against the opposition, in the run-up to the legislative elections in September. Thus, the organizations of the main detained opponent Alexeï Navalny were declared "
extremists
" and banned on 9 June. Its members are banned from elections.