Watchdog

The family of an Iranian dissident journalist says their son has been missing since the end of last month and is likely to have been abducted by Iranian agents in Turkey, where he had taken refuge.

The Daily Sabah newspaper reported on June 5 that the father of Mohammad Bagher Moradi, an opposition journalist who fled to Turkey nine years ago, believes his son has been abducted by Iranian agents after he went missing on May 30 in Ankara.

According to the newspaper, Moradi left his home in the Turkish capital to buy bread and never returned, while his mobile phone no longer works.

In addition, Moradi's car was found abandoned and his Twitter account has not been active since May 30.

Another Turkish daily, Hurriyet, reported that Moradi's family had filed a criminal complaint over their son's disappearance and told the local prosecutor's office that they suspected he had been abducted.

Hossein Moradi says his son has been wanted by Iranian intelligence for some time.

Turkey, which lies on Iran's western border, is one of the main destinations for Iranians fleeing the country. It has also become a prime hunting ground for dissidents by Iranian intelligence, or those who work for Tehran's security agencies.

Writing and reporting by Ardeshir Tayebi

Russian investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov, editor in chief of the website Agentura.ru, which focuses on the activities of Russia's secret services, says he has been added to the country's wanted list.

Soldatov wrote on Facebook on June 6 that he found his name in the Interior Ministry's registry of wanted people, adding that he found out that all his bank accounts in Russia had been frozen.

It is not clear what charges Soldatov may face, as the input in the ministry's registry says only that he "is wanted for violating an article of the Criminal Code."

"The probe was launched on March 17; it is presumably being investigated by the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee. The case number is just several digits different from the numbers of the cases launched against [journalists] Maikl Naki and Ruslan Leviyev," Soldatov wrote.

Last month, a court in Moscow issued arrest warrants for Naki and Leviyev, accusing them of distributing false information about the Russian military as Moscow's war against Ukraine continues.

Naki is a former journalist at Ekho Moskvy, a radio station known to be critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ekho Moskvy halted operations in March after the Prosecutor-General's Office said it was distributing what the authorities called information "calling for extremist activities, violence, and premeditated false information" about Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Leviyev is the founder of the Conflict Intelligence Team, which investigates armed conflicts in Ukraine and other parts of the world. He is a frequent guest on Naki's YouTube channel.

Media across Russia have been instructed by the government that Moscow's actions in Ukraine cannot be called a "war" or an "invasion," and should instead be referred to as a "special military operation."

Since Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, Soldatov talked to different media, including RFE/RL, as an expert on the reactions of the Russian secret services to President Vladimir Putin's decisions concerning the war in Ukraine.

With reporting by Mediazona