Russian authorities have opened three criminal investigations into the work of Roman Ivanov, a journalist from the Moscow region working for the RusNews website, RusNews reported Tuesday, citing a criminal investigator.
The criminal investigations are believed to be linked to posts written by Ivanov on his Telegram channel, which has some 1,600 subscribers.
Police started searching Ivanov’s apartment at around 6:00 a.m. Moscow time on Tuesday.
Ivanov could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to the outlet.
In February, a Russian court sentenced another RusNews journalist, Maria Ponomarenko, to six years in prison for spreading so-called “fake news” about the war in Ukraine.
Ponomarenko was arrested last April for publishing information about the Russian bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theatre in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The Kremlin denies responsibility for the airstrike, which is believed to have killed hundreds of civilians.
Shortly after the start of the war against Kyiv, Russia introduced a law that outlaws sharing information that does not follow the Kremlin’s narrative of its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
