Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Igor Rudnikov
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 31 December 2017 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Igor Rudnikov, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c93bca.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Novye Kolyosa | Imprisoned in Russia | November 01, 2017
| Job: | Editor, Publisher/Owner |
| Medium: | Internet, Print |
| Beats Covered: | Business, Corruption, Crime, Politics |
| Gender: | Male |
| Local or Foreign: | Local |
| Freelance: | No |
| Charge: | Retaliatory |
| Length of Sentence: | Not Sentenced |
| Reported Health Problems: | Yes |
Russia's security service (FSB) detained Rudnikov, editor-in-chief and owner of the independent Novye Kolyosa, at his house and brought him to the Kaliningrad-based weekly's newsroom in handcuffs with his hand swollen, according to media reports and a staff member who spoke with CPJ on November 3, 2017, on condition of anonymity for safety concerns.
Nearly a dozen officers in heavy armor and facemasks raided the newsroom and conducted a search that lasted for over five hours, the staff member said. According to his colleague, Rudnikov was interrogated in a room separate from the rest of the staff. Rudnikov was then hospitalized with a concussion, a broken arm, and a broken rib, according to press reports and the same staff member.
According to the staff member, at around 2 a.m. on November 2, Rudnikov was taken in his underwear from his hospital bed to his home, where security forces conducted further searches. Law enforcement also searched his mother's house.
Officers then placed Rudnikov in a Kaliningrad FSB detention center, according to the newspaper staff member.
On November 3, 2017, Rudnikov appeared at a local court to hear charges against him. According to news reports and the newspaper staff member, the authorities charged Rudnikov with accepting a bribe from Viktor Ledenyov, head of the Kaliningrad branch of Russia's investigative committee.
The judge denied the defense's request to place Rudnikov, who appeared with a cast on his right hand, under house arrest to receive medical treatment, and ruled that the suspect should remain in custody until January 1, 2018, pending investigation, local media reported.
Rudnikov's colleague told CPJ they believe the charges are in retaliation for Novye Kolyosa's series of reports about a luxury villa in Kaliningrad allegedly belonging to Ledenyov.
A report from the Russian news agency Interfax stated that neither the FSB nor the Investigative Committee gave any comment on the case, including the alleged beating.
On November 30, 2017, Rudnikov was transferred to the Lefortovo detention center in Moscow, local media reported.
