MOSCOW, August 5 (RAPSI) — The Moscow Lefortovsky District Court has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for editor-in-chief of The Insider (recognized in Russia as a media performing functions of a foreign agent and an undesirable organization) Roman Dobrokhotov (recognized as a foreign media agent in Russia) in a case over illegal crossing of the state border, the press service of the court informs RAPSI.

By the court decision, the pretrial restriction measure with respect to Dobrokhotov is to be detention for a period of 2 months from the moment he crosses the Russian state border and is placed under guard of officers of the Federal Penitentiary Service, or from the moment he is arrested on the territory of Russia, the statement reads.

The criminal case against Dobrokhotov was initiated last year. In the course of investigation, the apartment of the journalist and the apartment of his parents were searched after the defendant himself secretly left Russia.

According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), on the night of August 1, 2021, the journalist crossed into the territory of Ukraine through the Voronezh region, bypassing the official checkpoints. He is accused of illegal crossing of the state border of the Russian Federation; by law, such a crime is punishable with a prison term up to two years.

Last October, the Moscow Cheremushkinsky District Court ordered Dobrokhotov to pay Dutch journalist Max van der Werff 156,000 rubles (over $2,000) upon the latter’s defamation lawsuit; the court also obliged the journalist to refute information distributed by him on Twitter. This case against Dobrokhotov was initiated in July 2021.