Russian authorities raid homes of investigative journalists and their family members

Raids come as independent outlet releases investigation into interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev

Russia’s interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev with Vladimir Putin (AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities in Russia have raided the home of several investigative journalists and their family members, as pressure mounts on the country’s independent media.

Russian police searched the apartments of Roman Badanin, chief editor of the Proekt investigative online news outlet, and Maria Zholobova, one of its reporters, on Tuesday morning.

Proekt said on its Telegram account that the raids occurred after the outlet promised to release an investigation into Russia’s interior minister, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, and his alleged wealth.

The investigative media organisation published the story on the minister in Vladimir Putin’s government shortly after the searches started.

Officers also raided the home of the parents of Mr Badanin’s deputy, Mikhail Rubin. He was detained and brought to his parents’ apartment for a search of the building, according to the Associated Press.

Video shared by Proekt on Twitter showed the raid on Ms Zholobova’s apartment and said she would be detained for questioning by the police.

Proekt later said that at least two out of three raids were connected to a defamation case over a 2017 documentary both Mr Badanin and Ms Zholobova worked on, about a St Petersburg businessman with alleged ties to organised crime.

Mr Badanin was a suspect in the defamation case, his lawyer Anna Bogatyryova told Russia’s independent TV channel Dozhd, and Ms Zholobova reportedly had the status of a witness.

It wasn’t immediately clear, however, why Mr Badanin’s deputy, Mr Rubin, was targeted by the police.

Russian authorities have turned up the pressure on independent news media in recent months.

Two popular independent news outlets, Meduza and VTimes, have been designated “foreign agents” — a label slapped on non-government groups, news outlets or individuals that receive any foreign funding.

The designation implies additional government scrutiny and has a strong negative connotation that could discredit those that receive it.

VTimes shut down this month after being added to the list of “foreign agents”, while Meduza launched a crowd-funding campaign.

Russia has used the law to issue heavy fines on US-funded Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty for failing to identify its material as produced by “foreign agents”.

The broadcaster has asked the European Court of Human Rights to intercede on the matter.

Additional reporting by Associated Press