Maksim Denisov

Affiliated media: Novaya Alternativa, Editor-in-chief

Incident date: August 1, 2022

Attack type:

• Prosecution for libel, insult, violation of privacy (1)

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: The Politics

Location: Russia, Penza Oblast, Penza

Additional information:

On July 26, in Penza, Maksim Denisov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Alternativa, was searched in the criminal case of libel (Article 128.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). During the search, a computer system unit was seized from the journalist. According to Denisov, the case was initiated on the application of Anton Sharonov, a United Russia candidate, to the regional legislature. He saw Denisov’s article, «United Russia’s Ship of Fools,» as libellous, in which he criticized United Russia candidates. In the article, Denisov calls Sharonov «an absolute fool» and «Totoshka» and recalls that the candidate has been caught up in corruption scandals in the past. On December 8, 2022, the case was dismissed. The security forces found confirmation of Denisov's words that Sharonov was involved in a corruption scheme and dismissed the case due to the lack of corpus delicti.