On 22 July 2024, the press service of the Moscow court system reported that Moscow’s Basmanny district court had placed the editor-in-chief of Skat.Media Lev Gyammer under arrest in absentia. In a post on Telegram, the press service said Gyammer was accused of “organizing an extremist group”, “creating of a non-profit organization which attacked on the identity and rights of citizens”, “inciting to mass riots”, disseminating “fake news” about the Russian army, justifying Nazism and calling for actions against the security of the state.
If convicted, Gyammer would face a lengthy prison term in absentia, including up to 10 years in prison on charges of disseminating what Russian authorities claim is “fake news” about the Russian army and its invasion of Ukraine. Gyammer is known to have left Russia in 2021 fearing persecution following his involvement in the activities of structures linked to Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. He founded online news website Skat.Media in August 2021, approximately two months before leaving Russia.