Russia Issues Arrest Warrant in Absentia for Exiled Journalist Armen Aramyan

September 19, 2024 – Russia – 

The Basmanny District Court in Moscow, on September 18, 2024, issued an arrest warrant in absentia for journalist and DOXA co-founder Armen Aramyan, who has been living in exile since April 2022. He is accused of “justifying terrorism online” and spreading “false information” about the Russian military through unspecified publications, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Aramyan helped establish DOXA, a student-run outlet, which in April 2022 was accused of involving minors in unauthorized protests and was subsequently banned. Along with two other co-founders, he fled Russia and is now outside the country’s jurisdiction.

CPJ’s Europe & Central Asia coordinator, Gulnoza Said, denounced Aramyan’s arrest — though he is no longer in Russia — as an extension of the Kremlin’s efforts to silence independent journalists even abroad. She stated, “Russian authorities’ persecution of journalists in exile through arrest warrants in absentia highlights their escalating repression…” and urged them to drop charges and cease “transnational repression” of exiled reporters.

Since August 2023, Aramyan has been on Russia’s federal wanted list. In January 2024, Russian authorities formally declared DOXA an “undesirable” organization, banning it and criminalizing any association with it, punishable by up to six years in prison or fines.

This move follows a disturbing pattern: in recent months, Russian courts have also issued in-absentia arrest warrants for exiled journalists such as Dmitry Kolezev (June 2024), on charges of spreading “false information” about the military, and Farida Kurbangaleeva (June 2024), accused of “justifying terrorism”

CPJ warns that this wave of transnational legal actions is a continuation of Russia’s strategy to shut down critical perspectives and intimidate journalists beyond its borders. It called on Russian authorities to stop criminalizing exile-based reporting, repeal abusive “foreign agent” and “fake news” laws, and allow independent media to operate without fear

Reference –

CPJ concerned by Russia’s arrest in absentia of exiled journalist – Committee to Protect Journalists