Russian court arrests Novaya Gazeta investigative journalist after editorial office searches
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Editor's note: The story was updated to include additional details on the arrest of the Russian journalist.
A Moscow court arrested Novaya Gazeta journalist Oleg Roldugin over alleged illegal use of personal data on April 10, a day after editorial office searches, the Russian independent media outlet reported.
According to Novaya Gazeta, Roldugin was arrested for a month, until May 10. The journalist denies the allegetions.
Masked special services officers arrived at the outlet's editorial office at noon on April 9 and searched the premises for several hours.
Lawyers representing Novaya Gazeta were barred from entering the publication's offices, and there was no communication with editorial staff who were inside when the search started.
"We do not know the reason (for the search)," Novaya Gazeta said.
Roldugin's apartment was also searched on April 9 and he was taken to the Main Investigative Directorate of the Moscow police for questioning.
Law enforcement also conducted a search of the Novaya Gazeta office relating to the "creation of informational articles and materials of a negative nature about Russians," Russian state media claimed.
In contemporary Russia, working as an independent — and particularly as an investigative — journalist entails significant risk. Russian authorities routinely detain individuals for voicing criticism of the government, and such dangers have only intensified since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine.
A number of journalists have also been murdered under Russian President Vladimir Putin's nearly three decades of rule.
In an article published by The New York Times on April 2, Dmitry Muratov, former editor in chief of Novaya Gazeta — who notably remained in Russia after 2022 — described the newspaper’s continued work as driven by a commitment to Russian civil society.
"We are resisting fascism," he said.
Muratov was labeled a "foreign agent" by the Kremlin in 2023, and the newspaper’s operations have faced severe restrictions since the start of the full-scale war. Staff members who chose exile have since launched a sister publication, Novaya Gazeta Europe.
