Dmitry Kolezev

Former editor-in-chief of the online publication Republic. The criminal case against Kolezev became known in November 2022 and he was put on a wanted list. The journalist left Russia shortly after the war started. According to unconfirmed reports, the reason for the case was a post on Instagram in April 2022 about the killings of civilians in Bucha. Initially it was reported that Kolezev was accused of spreading "fakes" about the army using his official position (item "a" part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code), but later official information about the hate motive appeared. In October 2022, Kolezev was included in the register of "foreign agents". In June 2024, the journalist was arrested in absentia. On 6 August Kolezev was sentenced in absentia to seven and a half years' imprisonment and was banned from journalistic activities for 3 years. In December 2024, it became known that a case of evasion of duties of a "foreign agent" was initiated against Kolezev.