Arrest in absentia for the Bulgarian journalist from the Bellingcat group of investigative reporters Christo Grozev was requested by Russia. He is accused in a case of "illegal crossing of the border of the Russian Federation". The prosecutor's office turned to the Lefertov Court of Moscow, TASS reported.

"The court received materials about Christo Grozev, they will be examined soon," said a source from the court.

The maximum sentence on the charge of illegally crossing the state border of Russia is up to two years in prison. In December 2022, Christo Grozev was declared federally wanted by Russia.

The website of the Russian Interior Ministry said he was "wanted under an article of the Criminal Code".

A criminal case has been opened against Grozev for "spreading false news about the Russian army". That charge was added to Russian legislation after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine last February.

In July 2022, Russia's FSB intelligence service said Grozev was involved in a Ukrainian military intelligence operation to hijack military aircraft from Russia. The service claims to have found two couriers who were involved in transferring money from Ukrainian intelligence to a Russian pilot to hijack a plane. The journalist denies being involved.

Moscow has denounced Bellingcat as an "undesirable" organization, saying it poses a threat to the country's security. Last year, Bellingcat was declared a "foreign agent" in Russia.

Since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February, Bellingcat has largely focused on using open-source material and social media to document Russian war crimes.

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