Russian law enforcement officials on Thursday detained a Kazakh national who works as a journalist in the Ural Mountains city of Perm, his employer Properm.ru said.
Journalist Vladislav Ivanenko was arrested early Thursday at his home in Perm and taken first to a local police station and then to a temporary detention facility for foreign nationals, according to the Properm.ru news outlet.
Ivanenko has lived and worked in Perm for the past eight years, but was notified that his Russian residency permit had been revoked shortly before being detained.
“The editorial team of Properm.ru considers the grounds for canceling [Ivanenko’s] residency permit… fictitious and baseless,” Properm.ru said in a statement issued Thursday.
Properm.ru did not say why Russian authorities might have chosen to revoke Ivanenko's residency permit but noted that the journalist has no past criminal record and that he will appeal the decision.
“We consider the actions of law enforcement authorities illegal and excessive and demand them to stop pressuring [our] employee and the newsroom,” the outlet wrote.
Properm.ru’s editorial team said that, as of Thursday afternoon, they were unable to contact Ivanenko.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
