Independent Tatar journalist Iskander Siradzhi has been released from pretrial detention in the Russian city of Kazan after launching a hunger strike to protest the charges against him.
His lawyer, Talia Chernova, was quoted by online news outlet Realnoe Vremya as saying that Siradzhi was released and that no investigative actions were taken against him on October 11, but he remains a suspect in a case involving the release of private information about two witnesses in a murder case.
Chernova said earlier on October 11 that Siradzhi "considers his prosecution to be illegal."
Siradzhi, a well-known local journalist and the owner of the online newspaper Sirazhi Suze, was detained on October 9 in Kazan, the capital of Russia's Tatarstan region, after authorities searched his home and office, confiscating all his equipment.
Authorities subsequently opened a criminal case against him for the alleged dissemination of private information without consent, his wife Elmira Siradzhi reported on Telegram.
Siradzhi was briefly investigated in November 2023 in connection with RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was arrested in Kazan in October 2023.
Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, was first charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent" under a punitive Russian law that targets journalists among others and was subsequently charged with spreading falsehoods about the Russian military -- charges she and RFE/RL denied.
She was sentenced to 6 1/2 years before being released in a prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States in August.
SEE ALSO: Long Showers. Clean Drinking Water. Long Hugs. Avocados: Alsu Kurmasheva Adjusts To Freedom After Russian PrisonWhile Kurmasheva was still in detention, Siradzhi's home was searched at 5:30 a.m. by authorities, who took away his professional equipment and his children's computers.
"Allegedly, RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva collected information that constituted a state secret," Siradzhi said at the time.
"Supposedly, Kurmasheva asked some professors how many people were taken from their institute during the military mobilization. And this is supposedly a big crime. Supposedly, I am somehow connected with this crime," he added.
Siradzhi has never collaborated with RFE/RL.
Now the Investigative Committee is accusing Siradzhi of publishing personal information about two Kazan residents, named by authorities only as Safiullin and Sabirov.
The committee claimed that video footage published by Siradzhi several years ago disclosed details about the places of residence, the families, and the income of the two individuals, accusations that Chernova said are untrue.
The case against Siradzhi stems from his reporting on the case of Kazan resident Ibrahim Zakiyev, who was accused of murders committed some two decades ago.
Tatarstan's Supreme Court has recently acquitted Zakiyev, despite testimonies against him provided by Safiullin and Sabirov.
"And the very next day, based on [Safiullin and Sabirov's] statement, the Investigative Committee opens a case [against Siradzhi]," Chernova said, adding that his case is being handled by the same [investigative] department that sent Zakiyev’s murder case to court.
"I believe there’s a direct connection here," Chernova said. She added that investigators promised Siradzhi he would be released if he gave a confession.