Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for IStories Head Editor Anin

Russia’s Interior Ministry has issued an arrest warrant for the editor-in-chief of the investigative news outlet IStories, Mediazona reported Monday.

Roman Anin, who used to work as a correspondent for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was listed in the law enforcement body’s online database of wanted persons but the listing does not indicate any charges against him.

Medizona said it was unaware of there being a criminal case against the journalist.

In 2021, the Russian authorities designated Anin a “foreign agent” along with several other IStories journalists.

Yekaterina Fomina, a journalist at TV Rain and a former IStories correspondent, was also placed on the Interior Ministry’s wanted list on Monday, according to Mediazona.

Authorities opened a criminal case against her for disseminating “false information” about Russia’s armed forces, the state-run TASS news agency reported in January.

According to TASS, law enforcement authorities opened the case against Fomina after she interviewed a Russian soldier who admitted to killing a civilian in the Ukrainian village of Andriivka.

Both IStories and TV Rain have been branded “undesirable organizations” by the Russian government, which effectively bans anyone inside the country from working for them.