Moscow Law Enforcement Targets Telegram Channel Baza as Editor-in-Chief is Arrested

The editor-in-chief of the Telegram news channel Baza was arrested on Tuesday, according to his lawyer, as police conducted a search at the channel’s headquarters in Moscow.

Gleb Trifonov, who has been at the helm of Baza since 2022, was taken into custody after officers visited his residence earlier in the day, lawyer Alexei Mikhalchik informed the state-run TASS news agency. It remains unclear if Trifonov has been charged with any offense.

Additionally, two other staff members from Baza were briefly detained for questioning but were released later without facing charges, Mikhalchik stated. He mentioned that he had not yet managed to reach Trifonov.

Mikhalchik suggested that the arrest is linked to a criminal investigation concerning abuse of power by a law enforcement official suspected of leaking sensitive information that later appeared on a Telegram channel.

On Tuesday, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced an inquiry into abuse of power, though it did not directly reference Baza. However, the timing of the announcement alongside simultaneous searches in Moscow, as well as in the Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, and Belgorod regions, indicates a possible connection to the channel.

Earlier, the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Nu Ranshe Vsekh shared photos and a video showing law enforcement officers inside Baza’s office with employees nearby. Following the search, Baza reported that police seized phones, computers, and documents.

With over 1.6 million subscribers on Telegram, Baza is recognized for its close relationships with law enforcement and often cites anonymous police sources in its coverage. The channel is also considered to have pro-government inclinations.

The searches conducted on Tuesday occurred almost two months after a similar raid at Ura.ru in Yekaterinburg, where the editor-in-chief faced allegations of bribing his uncle, a former police official.