Editor of top independent Russian newspaper fined for allegedly discrediting military

By The Associated Press

The editor-in-chief of the renowned Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta was detained and later fined 30,000 rubles ($329) after being accused of discrediting Russia’s armed forces. The newspaper says Sergei Sokolov was detained Thursday by officers from Russia’s Center for Combating Extremism. It says the charges — which are “administrative” and are usually punishable by a fine or a short prison sentence -– are related to material posted in the outlet’s Telegram channel. Sokolov took the leadership of Novaya Gazeta’s newsroom in September 2023 after the previous longtime editor-in-chief, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov, was named a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.