A Moscow court on February 12 sentenced Kirill Sukhanov, the commercial director of the Ostorozhno Media media holding to 7 1/2 years in prison on an extortion charge. Sukhanov's co-defendants, journalists Arian Romanovsky and Tamerlan Bigayev, received seven years in prison, each on the same charge. The case was launched at the request of a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, Sergei Chemezov, the head of the Rostec state-owned defense conglomerate, who claimed that Sukhanov tried to extort 11 million rubles ($120,600) from him in exchange for withholding sensitive materials. Ostorozhno Media is owned by journalist and TV personality Ksenia Sobchak. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Russian Media Holding's Executive Gets More Than 7 Years In Prison On Extortion Charge
Kirill Sukhanov (left), Tamerlan Bigayev (center), and Arian Romanovsky in a Moscow courtroom (file photo)