Arrest/detention/charges: Arrest/detention under other laws
On 17 September 2022, police in Belgorod detained journalist Kirill Ponomarev, who was in the city reporting for independent English-language online news portal The Moscow Times. Ponomarev was conducting interviews with Ukrainian refugees who were staying in the city. Police reportedly overheard a conversation in which he presented himself as a Ukrainian journalist.
Initial reports said Ponomarev would be charged of espionage, however he was released on the following day with 500 ruble fine for alleged ‘hooliganism’.