Moscow court orders detention of Baza’s editor amid bribery investigation PHOTO

On the evening of July 23, the Zamoskvoretsky Court in Moscow granted the investigation’s request to impose a preventive measure in the form of detention on the editor-in-chief of Baza, Gleb Trifonov. He is accused of bribing police officers from Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and Belgorod Oblast in exchange for operational information, according to Vedomosti.

Several dozen media representatives came to court to support their colleague. Among them was News Media founder Aram Gabrelyanov, who vouched for the accused. “I always try to protect journalists. Especially when people are completely innocent,” Gabrelyanov told journalists. The defence also requested to submit letters of gratitude addressed to Trifonov from the religious organisation “Sorok Sorokov,” charitable NGOs, as well as personal guarantees from public figures and other journalists, including Ksenia Sobchak.

The investigator was not convinced by the opinions of Gabrelyanov and the defence attorneys: during the hearing, he insisted that the only possible preventive measure for Trifonov was isolation from society, since the journalist could pressure witnesses and interfere with the collection of evidence.

According to the Moscow office of the Investigative Committee (SK), information received from law enforcement agencies was published on the publication’s Telegram channel. Three police officers accused in connection with the journalist’s criminal case have already been brought to Moscow. It is expected that the court will decide on their preventive measures on July 24.

During the court hearing, it became known that an operational officer reviewed Trifonov’s bank statements as early as March 31, 2025, and three months later, on June 24, the materials were submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Internal Security Department. Transfers made by Trifonov to police officers’ accounts formed the basis of the criminal case, but there is no evidence that the accused knew exactly to whom he was transferring the funds, defence lawyer Alexey Mikhalschik insisted. “For obvious reasons, Trifonov had no way to identify his interlocutors,” he explained. Mikhalschik requested the court summon Gabrelyanov, Baza co-founder Alexander Potapov, and Trifonov’s mother, Yulia, for questioning. Judge Artem Ustinov allowed only the mother to be questioned, who confirmed that she has a disability, requires special care, and is effectively dependent on her son.

The defence also pointed to serious violations of the Criminal Procedure Code in relation to Trifonov. For example, interrogation at night. “In each of the interrogation protocols, we indicated to the investigator the existence of rules prohibiting interrogations at night. Nevertheless, the investigation continues to ignore these requirements,” Mikhalschik noted.

“I did not commit the crime I am accused of. I guarantee that I will appear at the first request of the investigators, at the first request of the court, whenever necessary,” Trifonov promised the court. According to him, he has no possibility of fleeing from the investigation.

Information about the initiation of a criminal case against the publication’s employees appeared in the media on the morning of July 22. It was then reported that police and OMON officers conducted searches at the Baza editorial office and Trifonov’s apartment. Subsequently, the Investigative Committee confirmed the detention of the editor-in-chief and journalist Tatyana Lukyanova (also arrested until September 20), stating that they are involved in a case concerning police officers’ abuse of power (Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), related to the illegal transfer of official information. According to media reports, during a night interrogation, Baza journalists told investigators that “they acquired information and videos for money, but it was not about incidents, rather about sports or social events.” For example, Trifonov owns the well-known sports channel “Mutko protiv.”

Mikhalschik stated that the defence will appeal the arrest decision. After the court hearing, Gabrelyanov called the criminal prosecution of the journalists “an attempt by investigators to pressure the accused police officers.”

On June 6, a similar accusation was made against Ura.ru editor Denis Allayarov. According to the investigation, money was used to pay for exclusive information about criminal cases. Allayarov is currently in pretrial detention.

By Vugar Khalilov