Yuri Napso Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

People enjoy a sunny day just outside the Fisht stadium, at the sea front in Sochi, Russia in June 2017. A Sochi court charged local blogger Aleksandr Valov with extorting money from the city's federal parliamentary deputy. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Russian authorities arrest Sochi blogger on extortion charges

January 26, 2018 2:27 PM EST

New York, January 26, 2018–Russian authorities should immediately drop the charges against journalist Aleksandr Valov and release him from custody, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities on January 19 detained Valov, the editor-in-chief and founder of a local news site BlogSochi, and, two days later, charged him with extortion, according to media reports.