TV Rain General Director Sindeyeva questioned over July 27 protest in Moscow
MOSCOW. Sept 10 (Interfax) - The general director of Russian channel TV Rain, Natalya Sindeyeva, has been summoned to the Investigative Committee for questioning as part of an investigation opened into the station's coverage of protests in Moscow in summer.
"I was asked how we covered the action on July 27 and also about TV Rain's financial sources," Sindeyeva told reporters following her questioning on Tuesday.
Sindeyeva additionally said that she is a witness in a case opened into mass unrest in Moscow. The TV channel's Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Perepelova has also been questioned in this case, she said.
"Everything was appropriate and polite. The questions were appropriate, too," Sindeyeva said.
It was reported on Monday that Sindeyeva had been summoned to the Russian Investigative Committee's Main Department for High-Profile Cases for questioning on September 10. A summons demanding that Sindeyeva come to the Investigative Committee's senior investigator for high-profile cases Maj. Gen. of Justice Rustam Gabdulin for questioning as a witness was published on the Telegram channel of Agora human rights organization head Pavel Chikov.
Gabdulin is coordinating a group investigating the "July 27 case," which was opened by the Investigative Committee on charges of mass unrest.
Perepelova was earlier summoned for questioning as part of the July 27 unrest case.
"The interrogation dealt with our work to cover rallies. No complaints were put forth. I was asked how we covered that rally, what we did, and how we learned about the rally," Perepelova said after her questioning.
An unauthorized demonstration took place in central Moscow on July 27 to support candidates disqualified from the Moscow City Duma elections of September 8. As a result, police detained more than 1,000 protesters.
Following the rally, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case of mass unrest and several cases pertaining to the use of violence against law enforcement officers, resulting in the arrest of more than ten people.