The editor-in-chief of the Murmansk publication “Arctic Observer” Vyacheslav Gorodetsky told the details of the visit of security forces to the editorial office on the morning of June 11.
According to Gorodetsky, six people entered the editorial office, where he was alone. They announced that they were conducting “verification activities.” According to the editor-in-chief, the security forces threatened him with “the use of physical force and firearms.”
The reason for the visit was given by the security forces as “information” that Gorodetsky was “collecting information possibly related to state secrets.” “Specifically, I was allegedly collecting sensitive information regarding the ongoing special operation (number of dead, mobilized),” writes the editor-in-chief.
Gorodetsky added that FSB officers “shoveled through all the papers that were on the tables,” looked through all his notes in notebooks and diaries, and took away all the equipment from the editorial office.
Then Gorodetsky was taken for a conversation to the building of the regional FSB department. The journalist claims that he was asked the same questions about “data collection” for several hours, to which he did not answer. At about eight in the evening he was released without presenting anything.
Arctic Observer was created in 2020 at the editor’s own expense, according to its website. The publication publishes materials about life in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, the republics of Karelia and Komi and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
In April 2023, the Arctic Observer already reported on searches in the apartments of Gorodetsky and another employee of Dmitry Artemenko. The reason for this was “a statement by one of the regional government officials” due to a post in a telegram channel.
“We took an active position in assisting the investigation and provided all the digital media and personal computers at our disposal, however, we reserved the right to challenge some of the actions taken. <…> Due to the fact that we signed a non-disclosure agreement, we cannot share large amounts of data,” the publication’s staff concluded.