A court in Moscow seized the property of the founder of the St. Petersburg-based online magazine Sobaka.ru, Veronika Belotserkovskaya. The court revealed that the decision was made on April 26 in connection with charges brought against Belotserkovskaya for disseminating what authorities said was false information about the Russian armed forces, first filed in mid-March 2022. The measures was taken under Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, which was added to the penal code after the invasion of Ukraine. The list of seized properties includes two apartments and parking places in Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as a plot of land in St. Petersburg. Belotserkovskaya was simultaneously arrested in absentia. According to media reports, the charges were brought against the journalist in relation to several social media posts where she criticized the government’s decision to invade Ukraine. She currently resides outside Russia. Belotserkovskaya was later declared a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.
UPDATE: On 28 March 2023, a court in Moscow lifted the arrest on the property of Belotserkovskaya after a request to do so was filed by the journalist’s lawyers.