Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Reporters Receive Threats After Investigating Secret Military Group

Roman Badanin Facebook

A group of Russian journalists who investigated the activities of a secretive group of Russian mercenaries in Africa and the Middle East have been subject to a campaign of physical threats and harassment, their editor-in-chief said.

"Proekt," an independent Moscow-based online news outlet which specializes in investigations, began to publish a series of articles in March looking into the role of a shadowy group of mercenaries known as Wagner.

Around the same time editor-in-chief Roman Badanin said his journalists began to receive emailed threats of physical retribution for their work.

Unknown people tried to break into his staff's personal accounts on Facebook, the Telegram messenger service and Google mail, he said, and one of his journalists was followed in the street by an unknown man who filmed her with a video camera.

"This is all simply an attempt to make us nervous, to distract from our journalistic work, to make it clear that we're under surveillance and that they're watching us," Badanin told Reuters in an interview.

Badanin said he could not prove who was behind the harassment campaign, which he said peaked last month when Proekt ran an investigation into Wagner's apparent activities in Libya.

Proekt did not complain to the police over the incidents, he said, saying he had instead decided to speak out publicly to draw attention to the threats.

People with ties to the Wagner group have previously told Reuters that it has carried out clandestine combat missions on the Kremlin's behalf in Ukraine and Syria. Russian authorities deny Wagner contractors carry out their orders.

The Wagner group was thrust into the spotlight last year when three Russian journalists were killed in Central African Republic while investigating there.

Russian private military contractors use a defence ministry base in southern Russia containing barracks that were built by a company linked to businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, Reuters reported in April.

The United States imposed sanctions on Prigozhin after it accused him of trying meddle in its 2016 presidential election and the 2018 U.S. congressional elections.

Prigozhin has denied any links to Wagner and has declined to comment on the U.S. allegations, calling them a "private matter" for the U.S. Treasury.

When asked if it was behind Proekt's troubles, Concord Management and Consulting, Prigozhin's main business, said by email:

"If journalists are being persecuted or threatened they should phone 02," a reference to the police emergency number in Russia.

Russia is regularly criticized by media freedom watchdogs who say attacks on journalists often go unpunished. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says 28 journalists have been killed in Russia since 2000.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more