Russian journalist hit with misdemeanor charges for sharing Meduza’s reporting

The St. Petersburg authorities have opened a misdemeanor case against journalist Valery Nechay, the former head of the radio station Echo of St. Petersburg, for participating in the activities of an “undesirable” organization, according to the human rights organization First Department.

The charges were reportedly sparked by Nechay’s sharing of materials from Meduza, which the Russian authorities have declared an “undesirable” organization.

Nechay told Meduza that he doesn’t know which of his online posts led to the charges.

This isn’t the first time someone in Russia has faced prosecution for sharing something from Meduza. In April 2023, Krasnodar Krai activist Vitaly Votanovsky was hit with misdemeanor charges for sharing articles from Meduza, the Ukrainian outlet Hromadske, the RFE/RL project Idel-Ural, and the independent outlet iStories (also an “undesirable organization) on Telegram. In May, Votanovsky was fined 10,000 rubles ($124) for participating in the activities of an “undesirable organization,” though it’s unclear whether the organization in question was Meduza or iStories.