Sergeii Kustov
Sergeii Kustov, born 1975, Ivanovo Oblast. Charges: Article 128.1 part 3, Russian Criminal Code; “Defamation case over IvanovoNews article”. Sentenced on June 26, 2026. Status: at large.
In brief
Ivanovo Oblast · Ivanovo · Journalists
Sentence
Fine
No information about an appeal ruling.
Charges
Full wording of the charges
Prosecutors allege that on 16 February 2025, unknown individuals published what they claim was "misleading information" on the IvanovoNews website. The posts reportedly contained what authorities describe as "a negative characterisation of Ivanovo region law enforcement officers' work, defaming their honour".
Latest event
June 26, 2026 — first-instance verdict
The court delivered a guilty verdict.
Timeline
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict
· Persecution begins
Defamation case over IvanovoNews article
Criminal case
Defamation case over IvanovoNews article
Details and sources
Full summary
A journalist and editor-in-chief of the Ivanovo BARS TV channel and IvanovoNews, Kustov had his flat and the BARS TV editorial office raided by law enforcement on the morning of 20 May 2025. According to IvanovoNews, the searches were linked to a criminal defamation case stemming from an article titled "'Cops' Mock the Pain of Relatives of Missing Soldiers".
Just before the raids, Kustov received a threatening message—"You will answer for this"—along with a link to his own article. In the piece, he had named the law enforcement officers who had objected to an earlier IvanovoNews report about the families of soldiers declared missing in action.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia