On 29 June 2023, a court in Moscow sentenced Russian media manager Ilya Krasilshchik, CEO of Helpdesk Media and former publisher of Latvia-based independent news outlet Meduza, to eight years of prison in absentia on charges of distributing false information about the Russian armed forces (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Krasilshchik was sentenced for an Instagram post on the murder of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha by Russian soldiers.
Krasilshchik left Russia in early 2022 and has been reporting on the war in Ukraine through Helpdesk Media, as well as on his personal Instagram account. On 3 August 2022, the Russian Federal Bailiffs Service froze his bank accounts.
On 1 March 2023, Krasilshchik tweeted that Russian authorities had toughened the charges against him by accusing him under a new paragraph of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code.
On 16 March 2023, a court in Moscow arrested Ilia Krasilshchik in absentia, a day after a prosecutor asked judges to take this measure.
On 23 May 2023, the Russian Prosecutor-General’s office finalized its indictment of Krasilshchik. The office sent its conclusions on the case to a court in Moscow, which was tasked with conducting hearings and issuing a verdict.