Ryazan editors face up to seven years in prison. Investigators have charged them with extortion.
Deputy Prosecutor of the Ryazan Region Alexander Kachurenko approved the indictment in the criminal case against the editors of the online newspaper "View from the Side" Konstantin Smirnov, Ryazan's Novaya Gazeta Alexey Frolov and the former editor of the site RZN.info Natalia Smolyaninova.
According to investigators, Ryazan journalists extorted money from the director (now former) of the regional Capital Repairs Fund. Alexey Rogotovsky.
"It has been established that, between October 2024 and January 2025, the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy with the editors of two media outlets, under threat of disseminating information in news outlets that would discredit the honor, dignity, and reputation of a city resident, in order to extort a total of 1,5 million rubles from the latter."- says on the regional prosecutor's office's Telegram channel.
Extortion on a large scale carries a prison sentence of up to seven years, while extortion on an especially large scale carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Smolyaninova and Frolov are located under house arrest, Smirnov was not released from the pretrial detention center, despite numerous requests for this, including from a member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Eva Merkacheva.
Journalists detained A year ago, at the end of January. Ryazan residents familiar with the situation believe the case is a politically motivated conspiracy: Smirnov and Frolov conducted investigations and wrote openly on the most pressing issues. Read more about this case— in the material colleagues.
In the photo: Natalia Smolyaninova, Alexey Frolov, Konstantin Smirnov (photo from the Internet)
