Thursday Novaya Gazeta wrote that Sergey Sokolov, the editor of the newspaper, was arrested in Moscow by some agents of the Center for combating extremism (the so-called “Centre E”, a government body) on charges of having “discredited” the Russian army.
Always second Novaya Gazeta, the accusations against Sokolov concern an article published in the newspaper. Novaya Gazeta He also says it is not known where Sokolov is currently being held, and he did not say whether a possible trial date has been set. Among Russian independent newspapers, Novaya Gazeta it is one of the few that still has an editorial office in the country: others have had to move their headquarters abroad.
“Centre E” is a special unit of the Russian Interior Ministry formally established to combat extremism and terrorism, but known above all for its repression activities against government opponents. Sokolov became director of Novaya Gazeta in September 2023, after the previous director, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, had been classified by the Russian authorities as a “foreign agent”: a formula which, according to Russian law, indicates people or organizations which, according to the government, receive funds from abroad to carry out anti-government activities.