Moscow’s Golovinsky Court sentenced Ekaterina Kotrikadze, a journalist for the Dozhd news agency (designated a foreign agent by the Ministry of Justice), in absentia to eight years in prison, the court’s press service reported to RBC.
She was found guilty under Article 207.3, Part 2, Subparagraph “d” of the Criminal Code (public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces). The maximum penalty under this article is up to ten years in prison; the prosecutor’s office had previously requested a nine-year sentence for Kotrikadze.
The criminal case against Kotrikadze was opened in July 2025 for disseminating false information about the army and failing to fulfill her duties as a foreign agent. Other defendants include her husband, Dozhd editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko, and channel host Valeria Ratnikova (they are also listed as foreign agents).
Last October, the Investigative Committee requested the journalist’s arrest in absentia, and simultaneously issued an arrest warrant for Dzyadko in absentia.
It’s worth noting that Kotrikadze recently gave an interview to Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan. The interview was published on February 15.