Russian Journalist Detained for Criticizing Military, Lawyer Says

Sergei Mingazov, a Russian Forbes journalist, has been detained in Khabarovsk for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian military in Bucha, Ukraine. The charge, which carries a potential 10-year prison sentence, stems from Mingazov's social media posts about the civilian deaths there. Russia has strictly censored war criticism, resulting in numerous arrests and long prison sentences for journalists, activists, and citizens.

A journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine has been detained on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military, his lawyer said Friday.

Sergei Mingazov is being held in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, lawyer Konstantin Bubon said on Facebook. He said that Mingazov was detained because of social media posts he made about the Ukrainian city of Bucha, where more than 400 bodies of civilians were found, many bearing signs of torture, after Russian forces pulled out in April 2022.

Mingazov will appear in court on Saturday on the charge of spreading false information, which could send him to prison for 10 years, if convicted.

Russia cracked down severely on criticism of the war soon after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, passing laws that criminalize allegedly false information about the military or statements seen as discrediting the military.

Journalists, opposition figures and regular citizens have been swept up in the crackdown, many of them sentenced to long prison terms. The longest to be imposed was against prominent activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years.

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