Christo Grozev: Arrest in Absentia is Absurd but my Traveling around the World will be Limited

"Russia accuses me of helping a fellow journalist leave the country. My arrest in absentia is just as effective as being poisoned in absentia, it's absurd. But I don't know to which countries extradition requests have been made, so my world traveling will definitely be limited."

This was stated by Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev on bTV, commenting on Friday's announcement by the Lefortovsky Court in Moscow about his arrest in absentia.

"The last time I was in Russia was in 2016 – more than 10 years after leaving the radio business there. Every year I went to give lectures to Russian journalists, and in 2016, when leaving Russia, a black stamp was put on my passport. I was then informed that I could no longer return", he explained.

Grozev is accused of helping Russian journalist Roman Dobrokhotov leave Russia across the border with Ukraine. "This is a colleague of ours, whose developments we publish on Bellingcat," he clarifies.

"In the summer of 2021, this Russian journalist's home in Moscow was raided. Then his passports, computer, and several phones were confiscated. Two days later, he still managed to cross the border to avoid arrest and, most likely, conviction – something that happened to many of his colleagues", Grozev also said.

The investigative journalist added that he would help any of his colleagues who work under the conditions of a totalitarian regime and are subject to persecution.

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