The Cheryomushkinsky District Court of Moscow has received materials for an administrative case against former Echo Moskvy editor-in-chief Alexey Venediktov under the article on participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization. Mediazona noticed the information.
It has not been specified what exactly the Russian authorities considered to be Venediktov’s participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization. The court hearing is scheduled for May 14.
Venediktov wrote on his Telegram channel that he learned about the protocol from media reports, and that the court summons reached him on April 14, the 25th anniversary of the NTV takeover.
“Yes, indeed, in terms of timing this coincides with the pressure on Muratov and the search at Novaya Gazeta. No, I do not know what this is about. No, I did not cooperate with any ‘undesirable organization’ among the 358 in the register. No, I am in Moscow,” the former Echo Moskvy editor-in-chief wrote.
Alexey Venediktov served as editor-in-chief of Echo Moskvy from 1998 to 2022. After the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2022, the radio station was taken off the air at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the outlet’s website was also blocked. The agency said this was done “because of false information about the essence of the special operation of the RF Armed Forces and calls to organize mass actions.”
At the time, Venediktov said the editorial staff categorically disagreed with the Prosecutor General’s Office submission and stressed that the agency’s claims were “not supported by any examples, any evidence, are unfounded and insulting to journalists and citizens of Russia.”
On March 3, 2022, the board of directors of Echo Moskvy JSC decided to liquidate the radio station and its website. The Kremlin said that Echo Moskvy had “violated the law,” and therefore the Prosecutor General’s Office had taken “appropriate measures, especially during the special operation.”
In the autumn of that same year, former Echo Moskvy journalist Maxim Kournikov announced the launch of the Echo project. It was declared an “undesirable” organization in the summer of 2025.
Venediktov himself has been included in the “foreign agents” register since April 2022.