On 27 July 2022, a court in Moscow registered a case against journalist Roman Dobrokhotov, accusing him of “discrediting” the Russian army. If found guilty, the Editor-in-Chief of The Insider could face a fine of up to 50,000 rubles.
Human rights activist and lawyer Pavel Chikov said Dobrokhotov is suspected of violating part 1, article 20.3.3 of Russia’s code of administrative offences, which bans the “discreditation” of the use of the Russian Armed Forces.
Dobrokhotov leads the investigate online media The Insider, known for regularly publishing articles on the war in Ukraine. It was not clear for what materials the journalist was accused of “discrediting” the Russian army. In a separate investigation, Dobrokhotov was fined 500,000 rubles for not displaying “foreign agent” status on social media. He left Russia in September 2021 after police searched his home as part of an investigation into alleged defamation of a Dutch blogger.