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Mikhail Zygar, journalist
Photo: Christoph Hardt / Panama Pictures / IMAGO
According to consistent reports, the Russian judiciary has opened criminal proceedings against the journalist and SPIEGEL columnist Mikhail Zygar.
He is said to have spread “fake news” about the Russian military, report the state news agency Ria Novosti and the Tass agency.
According to the Telegram channel Baza, which allegedly has ties to Russian law enforcement agencies, Zygar is accused of spreading false information on social media about Russian army atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
According to Tass, Zygar has been put on a wanted list.
Russian troops occupied Bucha shortly after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine.
When Ukrainian forces liberated the Kiev suburb, they found numerous bodies - the Russian occupiers had apparently murdered indiscriminately, and many civilians were among the victims.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, more than 450 people died in this way in Bucha (here you can find a reconstruction of the Bucha murders).
Moscow denied that its army had committed atrocities against the city's civilians, instead accusing Kiev and its Western allies of orchestrating the scenes.
However, this claim turned out to be untenable.
If convicted, Zygar, who currently lives outside Russia, could face up to 10 years in prison.
Zygar is the former editor-in-chief of the independent broadcaster Dozhd and was added to Russia's list of "foreign agents" in 2022.
Most recently, Russia banned the XZ Foundation founded by Zygar and he was described as a traitor (read Zygar's column on this here).
The organization's mission was to combat Russian propaganda.
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