The SC is investigating a Muscovite who was considered the owner of the Telegram channel Nexta Live

The Office of the Investigative Committee in Moscow is conducting an investigation into the posting of calls for terrorist activity in the Nexta Live telegram channel. This is reported by RBC with reference to the source.

According to the interlocutor of the publication, from March 12 to 16 of last year, a message appeared in the Telegram channel, which the investigators regarded as a call for terrorist activity. The investigation considers that the message was published by the owner of the channel. SC employees are also investigating the involvement of Moscow resident Oleh Seliverov in Nexta Live activities.

Baza contacted the person who is being investigated. He claims that he has nothing to do with Nexta Live. “I have already been called to the police, asked these questions. I told them that I have lived in Moscow all my life and am not connected to this channel in any way. I am not ready to talk about the rest without a lawyer,” Selyverova Baza said.

The editors of the Telegram channel Nexta Live stated that for security reasons, none of the active representatives of the project visits Russia. In addition, there are no Russian citizens in the editorial office. “Even if this Oleg does exist, then, most likely, he became a victim of the arbitrariness of the Russian security forces, who are very annoyed by the active anti-war position of the NEXTA Live channel, and they wanted to get a star without making any extra efforts,” the message says.

• The NEXTA channel became widely known for its coverage of the Belarusian protests of 2020. Its creators – Stepan Putilo and Roman Protasevich – harshly criticized the actions of police officers and Alexander Lukashenko personally in relation to citizens. Both were included in the list of persons involved in extremist activity, after which they left the country.
• Protasevich and his ex-girlfriend Sofya Sapega were arrested after the emergency landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk in May 2021. Some time after his arrest, Protasevych confessed on the air of Belarusian television that he had committed crimes and said that he wanted to live a normal, peaceful life. Then he announced the beginning of cooperation with the pro-government organization System Rights Protection. Criminal cases against him have not been closed. A court in Belarus sentenced Sapeh to six years in prison. Lukashenko refused to pardon her.
• Now NEXTA mainly covers Russia’s war against Ukraine from a pro-Ukrainian perspective, criticizing the Belarusian authorities for supporting Russia.