On 18 July 2024, Russian independent outlet MediaZona reported that journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva had been placed on Russia’s ‘wanted’ list for an unknown criminal offence. Contacted by the outlet, the journalist said that she believed that the case against her was opened for “repeated discreditation of the Russian army”, building upon an earlier accusation against her for which she was fined in September 2023.
Prokopyeva works as a correspondent for Sever.Realii, the regional service for northwestern Russia of the Prague-based online media outlet RFE/RL. She left Russia in March 2022, following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after police conducted a violent search at her home in Pskov, reportedly accusing her of having spread “false information”. Prokopyeva moved to continue her work in Riga, Latvia.
In June 2023, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated Prokopyeva as a “foreign agent”, obliging her to add disclaimers on this status to her publications, supply authorities with regular audits on financing and activity, as well as imposing several other restrictions. In a statement, the Ministry cited several reasons for designating Prokopyeva as a “foreign agent”, including her criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.