The Investigative Committee expanded the list of charges against the defendants in the criminal case about the preparation of an assassination attempt on TV presenter Vladimir Soloviev. On this subject writing “Kommersant”. They are accused of participating in a terrorist organization, possessing and manufacturing weapons, as well as destroying and damaging property.
Initially, a criminal case was opened under the article about obstructing a journalist’s lawful professional activities with the threat of violence and preparing to kill in a generally dangerous manner, the newspaper writes.
Seven people are involved in the case: Andrey Pronsky, Vladimir Stepanov, Maxim Druzhinin, Vasily Strizhakov, Vladimir Belyakov, Andrey Volkov and Timofey Mokiy. The investigation considers them to be members of the neo-Nazi terrorist group National Socialism/White Power banned in Russia.
Investigators consider Timofei Mokiy the “direct link to those who ordered the murder” of Solovyov, writes Kommersant in reference to the file. Passports of Ukrainian citizens “with photographs of members of an organized group under invalid personal data” were confiscated from him.
According to the IC, the defendants in the case also participated in the arson of administrative and service buildings and cars in protest against the military operation in Ukraine.
The case of the assassination attempt against Soloviev is handled by the War Crimes, Genocide and Rehabilitation of Nazism Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee’s Main Investigative Department.
“We discussed the killing of people carrying propaganda”
The FSB reported on the prevention of the murder of Vladimir Solovyov on April 25, 2022 and released operational video footage of the suspects’ arrest. From the testimony of the detainees, it follows that they were going to blow up Vladimir Solovyov’s car in Moscow.
In the video, one of the detainees said that the killings of “propaganda carriers” were also discussed – the general director of the Rossiya Segodnya MIA Dmitry Kiselev, the head of RIA Novosti and RT Margarita Simonyan, the presenters of television Olga Skabeeva, Evgeny Popov and Tigran Keosayan. During the searches, the detainees found “Molotov cocktails” and firearms.
After the suspects were arrested, Solovyov said he learned about the brewing assassination attempt on him from the media, but shortly before he received “rather obvious” threats. In this regard, the TV presenter was placed under protection.
Soloviev also claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy complained about the TV presenter to those around him and asked to “deal” with him in Russia.
According to the FSB, the assassination attempt against Solovyov was prepared on the instructions of the Ukrainian Security Service. The SBU called these accusations “new fantasies of the Russian special services, which simply offer new achievements for the Russian public”.
