Investigative journalist who helped unmask Russian spies is denied access to Putin's end-of-year presser, despite being accredited

Roman Dobrokhotov, the chief editor of the investigative news website The Insider, was not permitted to attend Vladimir Putin’s annual end-of-the-year press conference on December 20. Roughly 90 minutes before the start of the event, Dobrokhotov announced on Twitter that members of the Federal Protective Service refused to let him into the venue, despite the fact that he received accreditation to attend.

In 2018, The Insider worked closely with the investigative website Bellingcat, co-publishing several reports about Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin, the two Russian military intelligence operatives suspected of carrying out a nerve-agent attack in Salisbury, England, earlier this year.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously stated that “99.9 percent” of journalists who wanted to attend the press conference would be allowed in, explaining that “people with serious illnesses and criminal records” would be turned away.