Natalya Smolyaninova - Justice for Journalists

Natalya Smolyaninova

Affiliated media: RZN.info, Journalist, Former editor-in-chief

Incident date: January 31, 2025

Attack type:

  • House arrest

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Mediazona

Location: Russia, Ryazan oblast, Ryazan

Additional information:

The Soviet District Court of Ryazan has placed Natalya Smolyaninova, former editor-in-chief of the RZN.info portal, under house arrest in connection with an extortion case. Local journalist and politician Konstantin Smirnov, along with Alexei Frolov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Ryazan, are also implicated. Smirnov and Frolov have been remanded to a pre-trial detention centre, and their publications have been suspended. The suspects are accused of extorting 1.2 million rubles (approximately €12,787) from Alexei Rogotovsky, the acting head of the Ryazan Capital Repair Fund.

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