On 17 February 2023, Yevgeni Domozhirov, the editor-in-chief of Sota.Vision, a major independent Russian online media, was arrested in absentia by a court in Vologda, Northern Russia. Domozhirov had earlier been found guilty of spreading alleged “fake news” about the Russian army’s actions in Ukraine. Concretely, investigators incriminated him for social media posts on cases of torture and killings of civilians by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. According to Russian legislation, spreading information about the actions of the Russian army abroad which the Russian government does not consider to be true is punishable by three to fifteen years of prison.
Domozhirov left Russia in May 2022, soon after authorities targeted him in five separate cases of alleged “discreditation” of the Russian army, for which he would have faced a prison sentence if found guilty. In October, Sota.Vision’s editor-in-chief was also placed on Russia’s “wanted” list.