The Investigative Committee opened a case for justifying terrorism against Sota editor Anna Loiko

The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee for Moscow opened a criminal case against the editor of Sota, Anna Loiko, on charges of publicly justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). The investigation is considering the issue of putting her on the wanted list, reported press service departments.

According to investigators, Anna Loiko, while in Moscow, distributed an article on the Telegram channel about justifying the ideology of a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation. According to the source “RIA News” in law enforcement agencies, a journalist several years ago published an article justifying Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (a terrorist organization banned in Russia).

Telegram channel Sota reported that on the morning of October 31, a search was carried out in Ms. Loiko’s Moscow apartment, “she is now safe.” The publication reported that the editor’s mother was brought to the Investigative Committee for questioning.

On January 7, 2021, Sota published an article by Anna Loiko about criminal cases against members of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami in Russia. According to the Memorial Society (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation and liquidated), 343 participants in the movement are involved in criminal cases in the Russian Federation.

“Honestly, I didn’t think that the authorities would greet me with a case for an article I wrote in the first months of working as a journalist. I, of course, did not justify terrorism in any way and will gladly study the conclusions of experts who decided otherwise. My articles have always been about one thing – about how the state, which is obliged to protect its citizens, represses its own citizens,” Ms. Loiko commented on the initiation of a criminal case (quote from Sota).

Erdni Kagaltynov