Russia couldn’t block Telegram, but harassment, propaganda make it hostile for journalists
Telegram was meant to be blocked in Russia in April 2020 when Aleksandr Pichugin published a satirical article about the spread of COVID-19 on his channel Sorokin Khvost – an allusion to a Russian version of the saying, “A little bird told me.” Four days later, uniformed officers came to the journalist’s home and pushed…
Russian journalist Aleksandr Pichugin awaiting verdict, sentencing in false news trial
Vilnius, Lithuania, November 10, 2020 — Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against journalist Aleksandr Pichugin and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Tomorrow, a court in the central Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod is scheduled to announce the verdict and sentence in the trial of Pichugin, the chief…