Photo: Gleb Shchelkunov / Kommersant / Sipa USA / Vida Press
A Moscow court has ordered for Novaya Gazeta journalist Oleg Roldugin to be remanded in custody until at least May 10, according to the outlet Mediazona.
Roldugin was detained amid a raid by security forces of Novaya Gazeta’s Moscow newsroom on Thursday. The search began around noon Moscow time on April 9. The Interior Ministry announced the raid was part of a criminal investigation into the alleged unlawful use of personal data, and that Roldugin is suspected of illegally handling such data. He has not been formally charged.
During questioning, Roldugin reportedly acknowledged that he had created a Telegram channel containing exclusive information that "could not have been used in journalistic work." The judge did not name the channel.
Novaya Gazeta later reported in its newsletter that the raid was not related to the publication itself or its website.
“It was all long and exhausting — 13 hours — but they treated us politely. Everyone who was in the office is doing well and in good spirits,” the newspaper said.
The journalists promised to tell readers in more detail about the search later on and thanked everyone who had reached out and expressed concern.
The case marks the first time the statute on the illegal use of personal data has been used against a media outlet for working with leaked information. Previously, it had only been applied to administrators of leaked databases and security personnel who leaked data, according to the outlet Agentstvo.
Roldugin had published investigations in Novaya Gazeta into the inner circle of Chechnya Governor Ramzan Kadyrov and into the creators of Russia’s state messaging app, Max.
