The search at the editor-in-chief of The Insider Roman Dobrokhotov should have been carried out on July 2. The siloviki appeared only after the media recognized the “foreign agent”

The court issued a search warrant for Roman Dobrokhotov, editor-in-chief of The Insider, on July 2, but the security forces began investigative measures only today – 5 days after the publication was included in the register of “foreign agents” media. The Insider was informed about this by the lawyer of “Pravozashchita Otkrytie” Sergei Badamshin, who is familiar with the materials of the criminal case.

According to him, on April 26, 2021, a criminal case was opened against unidentified persons under Part 2 of Art. 128.1 of the Criminal Code (Slander), on June 13 it was suspended under paragraph 1. of Part 1. of Art. 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Then on June 30 the case was reopened by the prosecutor for a period of 1 month.

At the same time, the decision to authorize the search in the home was received by the investigating authorities on July 2, 2021. Almost a month later, The Insider turned on the register of media – “foreign agents”, and a few days before the expiration of the term of inquiry, the security forces came with a search.

Investigative measures are being carried out at the request of the lawyer of the Dutch citizen Max van der Werff, who accused The Insider of libel.

According to the Internal Affairs Directorate for the South-Western Administrative District of Moscow, an unidentified person in an unidentified place, no later than November 12, 2020, posted a tweet about “the involvement of Dutch citizen Max van der Werff in disinformation about the downed Boeing MH-17” in the Twitter account of user Roman Dobrokhotov.

During the search, Dobrokhotov’s phones, laptop, tablets and passport were seized. He himself is in the case as a witness. In addition to the editor-in-chief of The Insider, his parents’ apartment was also searched.

After the searches, Dobrokhotov was taken for interrogation to the Akademichesky OMVD. Roman confirmed that the case was opened because of his tweet about van der Werff.

Formerly The Insider found outthat Max van der Werff collaborated with the GRU and received money from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for disseminating information about the downed Boeing in Donbas