Anna Mongait, a journalist from Dozhd TV, has been arrested in absentia in a case concerning “military fakes.”

The Presnensky District Court in Moscow has arrested in absentia Anna Mongait, a journalist from Dozhd TV, on charges of spreading “fakes” about the Russian army (section “d,” part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Mediazona reported this from the courtroom.

The defence asked for Mongait not to be arrested, arguing that, contrary to the investigator’s claims, she is not in hiding—the case against her was opened after she had already moved abroad. For this reason, they argued, the journalist could not pressure witnesses.

The case against Mongait became known on 21 July. According to the Baza Telegram channel, the Investigative Committee opened the case on 18 July.

The journalist is being persecuted over posts about strikes on Odesa, which she published on her Telegram channel in April 2022 and July 2023.

Mongait, like many other Dozhd TV staff, left Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine. In November 2022, the Ministry of Justice added her to the list of “foreign agents.” After this, she was fined four times under administrative protocols for violating “foreign agent” laws (article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

• On 18 July, Moscow’s Investigative Committee announced that it had opened criminal cases against Dozhd presenters Ekaterina Kotrikadze, Valeria Ratnikova, and Tikhon Dzyadko, who also serves as editor-in-chief. All of them are accused of spreading “fakes” about the military (section “d,” part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) and of evading “foreign agent” obligations (part 2, article 330.1 of the Criminal Code).