The editor-in-chief of the Ingush publication Fortanga, Isabella Evloeva, revealed that police visited her parents’ house as an act of intimidation after she was charged with distributing false information about the Russian armed forces (Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The editor stated that she hasn’t lived with her parents since 1998 and has not resided in Russia for around three years. According to the journalist, the reason for the charge was that she called the letter Z “synonymous with aggression, death, pain and shameless manipulation.” A second criminal case was brought against the journalist because of the publication “about the atrocities in Bucha”.
UPDATE: 17/06/2022 – Isabella Evloeva’s mother was called for an interrogation in relation to the charges against her daughter of disseminating false information about the Russian armed forces. The prosecutor further ‘warned’ the mother that refusal to cooperate may lead to criminal charges against her. Evloeva argued it violated against Article 51 of the Russian Constitution, which states that criminal charges can not be filed in response to a refusal of an interrogation when the case is related to a close relative.
UPDATE: 05/07/2022 – Authorities in Ingushetia detained the father-in-law of Evloeva. He was transported to a nearby police station where he was interrogated in relation to the activities of Evloeva’s husband. The police asked about the husband’s location, activities, and involvement in the 2018-2019 protests surrounding the changes in the borders between Chechnya and Ingushetia. He was also asked about the whereabouts of his wife, who has been dead for 10 years, and of his brothers and sisters, which the man never had. Since charges were brought against Evloeva for distributing fake information about the Russian armed forces in March, her immediate relatives have come under significant pressure from the authorities.