[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"Investivative Committee has accused Baza editor-in-chief Gleb Trifonov of bribing police officers. His neighbor said that he was threatened with torture during his arrest", 23 July 2025

The Russian Investigative Committee has charged the editor-in-chief of the Baza Telegram channel Gleb Trifonov and the publication's producer Tatyana Lukyanova with giving a large bribe (Part 4 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code) and demanded their arrest, the TASS agency reported , citing law enforcement agencies.

According to investigators, employees of the Telegram channel paid money for information to police officers in the Belgorod region, Krasnodar and Krasnoyarsk territories.

Baza, citing Trifonov's neighbor , writes that during the arrest, the security forces "demanded the password to the phone and threatened the man with various tortures if he did not give it up"...

Trifonov denies guilt. According to the lawyer, "the investigation did not provide any evidence of corrupt financial relations between the editor-in-chief and the police." "Moreover, among those to whom the money was allegedly transferred, according to the investigation, there are two women, one of whom is 74 years old, and the other is about 30 years old. At the same time, Gleb does not know both of them, and they have no connection with the police," the publication writes.

According to Kommersant, Baza journalists told investigators that they purchased information and videos for money about "sporting or social events," since Gleb Trifonov owns the sports channel "Mutko Against."

Three police officers detained in different regions of Russia are suspected of abuse of power.