In the Yekaterinburg edition of URA.RU searches were held: what happened
Employees of the Investigative Committee and Police conducted searches in the Yekaterinburg edition of the URA.RU information agency in connection with the transfer of official information from the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs. Three journalists, in the framework of the case of abuse of authority in relation to unidentified police officers, were questioned, and then released. The Sverdlovsk editor of the agency Denis Allayarov was later detained a second time, suspecting a bribe in the policeman. In the Union of Journalists of Russia, they promised to help colleagues.
On the morning of June 5, searches were carried out in the Sverdlovsk edition of the URA.RU news agency and searches were searched and searched. “Before starting searches, the editorial office was detained by two of its employees, including the Sverdlovsk editor Denis Allayarov,” Kommersant source said. The interlocutor connected this with the detention in March 2025 of a former policeman, accused of transferring official information from the daily report of incidents.
The searches in the editorial office lasted several hours. As the publication itself reported, the security forces arrived at the office with sledgehammer, they did not let out the publication employees. The pregnant employee became ill, the husband tried to get to her, but law enforcement officers did not let him in. The security forces hid their faces with masks, and the correspondents of other publications who tried to take off the searches were expelled and tried to cover their cells with their hands.
According to Kommersant, in addition to Denis Allayarov, Sergey Bodrov and Anna Salymskaya were detained at home – correspondents illuminating criminal themes.
In the afternoon, all three after the interrogation were released, said “Kommersant” by Sergey Bodrov, Georgy Krasnov, noting that journalists have the status of witnesses in the criminal case.
The URA.RU news agency was founded in 2006 by journalist Aksana Panova. Journalists of the publication work in the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen and Kurgan regions, in the Perm Territory, Khanty -Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yamalo -Nenets Autonomous Okrug, as well as in Moscow. The chief editor of the agency is Diana Kozlova. The legal entity of the media, according to the site, Siberian-Ural Media Company LLC. According to the service Kartoteka.ruthe beneficiaries of the LLC are Elena Kimova (75%) and Mikhail Vyugin (25%). Mrs. Kimova is also the general director of the Golubino-1 company, which belongs to the famous Ural businessmen Artem Bikov and Alexei Bobrov (considered the owners of Ura.ru).
Lawyer Georgy Krasnov explained to Kommersant that the editor and journalists were detained in the framework of a criminal case instituted by the Investigative Committee against unidentified police officers under paragraph “E” of part 3 of Art. 286 (excess of official authority from selfish or other personal interest) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the interlocutors, the security forces allegedly found reports of incidents drawn up by the police in the computers of journalists, on the basis of which they prepared materials.
In the afternoon, the URA.RU editor Denis Allayarov said that during searches and interrogation a lawyer was not allowed to be allowed, the security forces were twice to unlock the equipment. “To introduce the essence of the complaints presented to me – they did not. Having said that I allegedly photographed how the head of the Sverdlovsk police, Alexander Meshkov and the supposedly governor of the Sverdlovsk region, go to work. They took the laptop, two tablets. One of the security forces made me understand that I would not refuse to free today or in the near future, but later they told me that I was a witness in a criminal case, ”Denis Allayarova reports in his own way Telegram channel. The media itself also published information that during the searches, law enforcement officers applied force to the head of Ura.ru Diana Kozlova.
Already in the evening, the Kommersant source said that Denis Allayarov was detained a second time – now as part of a criminal case under Art. 272.1 (illegal use, collection and storage of computer information containing personal data) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Subsequently, according to the interlocutor, the case was opened against him under Art. 291 (giving bribes) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the source, he transferred the money to the police officer for receiving operational data from the reports. In relation to the law enforcement officer, according to Kommersant, the case was opened under Art. 290 (receiving a bribe) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The Executive Director and Head of the URA.RU editorial board Mikhail Vyugin did not answer Kommersant’s phone calls, but he said to his publication that after searches, five journalists were asked about transfer to other regional editorial offices. “Employees do not want to work under such a pressure. It’s easier to sit in the “cart” and write all kinds of nonsense and nasty things anonymously – and no one will ever come to you, ”the information agency reports the words of Mikhail Vyugin.
The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Sverdlovsk Region Tatyana Merzlyakova, in an interview with Kommersant, explained that she was in touch with the Investigative Committee and was concerned about the situation. She assured that in no region there are better conditions for journalism than in the Sverdlovsk region.
Member of the Human Rights Council Eva Merkachev in his Telegram channel She called the searches of an attempt to “destroy journalism” in a separate region. In her opinion, law enforcement officers seek to determine and control the information agenda.
“The destruction of an independent journalist will lead to sad consequences. Gentlemen, the security forces, the media exist and work in the interests of society, and not in yours. According to the law, the media can name their sources only in the event of a corresponding court decision, ”wrote Mrs. Merkacheva.
After searches, the Union of Journalists of Russia expressed support to correspondents and called the operational events “demonstrative”. “The Union of Russian Journalists considers such power events in relation to the press unacceptable. We will monitor the development of events and provide our colleagues all the necessary assistance, ”the report said on the official website.
In the TFR in the Sverdlovsk region, Kommersant refused to comment on the situation.
According to some reports, the attention of the security forces to the Sverdlovsk edition of URA.RU could be affected by the resignation of the Governor of the Sverdlovsk region Evgeny Kuyvashev in March 2025, with whom the news agency “managed to build relationships”, said political technology Yevgeny Mintchenko.
