On 3 November 2023, a court in Moscow sentenced the ex-publisher of MediaZona, Petr Verzilov, to 8.5 years of prison in absentia on charges of disseminating “fake news” about the Russian army (Point D of article 207.3.3 of the Russian criminal code). The charges were formulated against Verzilov when he was still the publisher of the Russian independent media outlet, which focuses on abuse of power by courts and police. Verzilov joined the ranks of the Ukrainian army following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and stepped down from his position at MediaZona in October this year.

The criminal case against the journalist was opened by Russia’s Investigative Committee in November 2022. It was opened for Verzilov’s social media posts on killings of civilians in Bucha near Kyiv, at the time when the area was occupied by Russian forces.

Russian authorities also informed at the time that they had put out an international arrest warrant for Verzilov and had placed him under arrest in absentia. Both him and editor-in-chief of MediaZona Sergey Smirnov were also designated as ‘foreign agents’ by the Russian Ministry of Justice in September 2022. Verzilov and Smirnov no longer live in Russia.

Verzilov was indicted for alleged “fake news” on the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine in January this year.

UPDATE: On 11 March 2024, a court of appeals in Moscow canceled the in absentia sentence earlier handed to Verzilov, citing unspecified “irregularities” in the handling of the case.

UPDATE: On April 2, a court of first instance in Moscow again sentenced Verzilov to a prison term in absentia on “fake news” charges: this time for a duration of 8 years and four months.