Dobrochotov was fished out of his home by an army of agents. On Twitter, the journalist describes the banging on the door and jokes that he could use a lawyer.
Dobrochotov is editor-in-chief of the online platform The Insider. Risking his own life, he uncovers one scandal after another. Correspondent Eva Hartog from Moscow: ”He bites into the biggest taboos that often have to do with the security services and conducts in-depth research into this.”
Poisoning Navalny
Dobrochotov has been investigating the disaster with flight MH17 for more than six years. An attack that, according to international criminal investigations, was committed with a Buk missile from Russia. Dobrochotov revealed, among other things, the names of persons who arranged and carried out the transport of that Buk missile from Russia to eastern Ukraine.
The investigative journalist also found that the Russians were behind the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England in 2018, and behind the poisoning of Putin’s arch-rival Aleksei Navalny.
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Russia, as always, denies everything. But it doesn’t stop there now. “There is a clear trend in Russia. People and organizations that have a critical relationship with the Kremlin are being shut down. This has been the case for politicians and activists for some time now. And now also increasingly for critical journalists,” says Hartog.
Dutch blogger
Dobrochotov has been officially arrested for libel, Russia says. In this case it has to do with the Dutch blogger Max van der Werff. He has been writing for years that Russia has nothing to do with the shooting down of flight MH17. The Dutchman sets aside all evidence from the international investigation into the disaster.
Dobrochotov tweeted late last year that Van der Werff was hired by the Russian military intelligence service GRU. According to Hartog, Russia now has a reason to get rid of the critical journalist Dobrochotov: “This libel case is clearly used as a reason to limit him and The Insider. The raid and searches do not fit the charge of defamation.”
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After half a day of interrogation, Dobrochotov is back at home. He informed international media that he was not arrested for a revelation about a Russian taboo, but for the defamation charge by the Dutch blogger.
Still, this case stinks, according to the investigative journalist. His passport and laptops have been seized. Dobrochotov: ”These things have absolutely nothing to do with the libel case. What does a passport have to do with a tweet about a Dutch blogger?”
Incriminating evidence
Eva Hartog: ”It suggests that the authorities are looking for incriminating material to further tackle Dobrochotov. There are many reasons why the Russian authorities would rather lose Dobrochotov and other critical journalists than get rich. The worrying thing is that they are now fulfilling that ambition.”
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