Russian Authorities Arrest a Journalist for Reporting on Ukraine

A criminal investigation has been launched against a Siberian journalist whose website published articles critical of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Russian media reported on Thursday.

Michael Afanasyev, chief editor of Novy Fokus in Khakassia, was arrested by security forces Wednesday following the website's reporting on 11 riot police officers who allegedly refused to deploy to Ukraine as part of Russia's military campaign.

According to a law passed last month, Afanasyev was charged with spreading 'deliberately false information' about the Russian armed forces, a crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

Asfanasyev has published a number of investigations into sensitive subjects in Khakassia, including organized crime and allegations of power abuse by local officials.

A libel suit was filed against him in 2009 for reporting critical of the Russian government's response to an explosion at the country's largest hydroelectric plant at the time. Furthermore, he apparently faced death threats from a criminal gang operating in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia in 2016, after he revealed the group's illegal activities and suspected ties with local police.

Another journalist in Siberia was also arrested on suspicion of violating Russia's new laws regarding the coverage of the situation in Ukraine. The editor of the weekly LIStok newspaper based in Altay, Sergei Mikhailov, was reportedly placed in pre-trial detention as a result of the paper's alleged "call for sanctions against Russia."

LIStok's website has been blocked since March for "promoting" activities that oppose the actions of Moscow in Ukraine.