Sergei Reznik reported pressure from security forces on his relatives.

Relatives and friends of Rostov journalist Sergei Reznik, who fled Russia and is facing four criminal charges, have faced demands to disclose his whereabouts.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on December 28, 2022, Rostov journalist Sergei Reznik was added to the Rosfinmonitoring Service's list of terrorists and extremists. The Rostov journalist reported that a fourth criminal case has been opened against him – under the article on public calls for extremism.

A preliminary hearing in Sergei Reznik's case has been scheduled for November 27 in Rostov-on-Don court. However, it will be closed, and details of the hearing will not be disclosed, Reznik's defense attorney, Tatyana Moyshina, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "The court will decide when and how the hearings on the merits of the case will be held." But the trial is unlikely to be closed," she believes.

According to the lawyer, Sergei Reznik's inclusion on the list of extremists and terrorists will not significantly impact the trial, and the prosecution's position will only become known after the hearings on the merits begin.

"The prosecution's position cannot be predicted in advance; no lawyer will reveal the prosecution's position at the beginning of any random trial. The investigator outlined his version of events in the indictment. The extent to which the state prosecution will support it or not is unknown. Accordingly, the defense's position will be formulated based on the prosecution's position," Moyshina said.

Sergei Reznik himself lives outside of Russia, but he declined to disclose his location to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to the journalist, neither he nor any of his lawyer friends took the criminal case seriously.

The case lay suspended for a long time.

"But considering that the other criminal cases were initiated by the FSB and, in part, the Prosecutor General's Office, it's no longer surprising that this one made it to court, even though it had been suspended for so long. But around the spring of this year, the Prosecutor General's Office demanded that lower-level prosecutorial and investigative bodies retrieve all the backlogged cases and push them through to court, so they could be processed there. So, accordingly, my case was pushed through to court," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, adding that his defense attorney had reviewed the case materials, but he himself had not yet.

He considers staying outside of Russia his best option. "None of us can feel safe... But we shouldn't discount the fact that many of the remaining criminal groups in Russia, affiliated with the state but not completely controlled by it, also have certain unpleasant questions about my investigations into them. Therefore, of course, I don't feel completely safe in any way," Reznik stated.

They searched their homes and summoned them to various agencies.

He noted that he has relatives remaining in Rostov-on-Don. "They've been raiding their homes, summoning them to various agencies, and harassing people for questioning and interrogation. But here's the situation: my family really likes everything that's happening in Russia. They consider it a wonderful, great country and think it's doing everything right. Basically, they're patriots of their country, just the way it is," Reznik explained.

The journalist added that his friends and many acquaintances haven't escaped the attention of the security forces either. "They probably dragged almost all of them to the FSB building on Bolshaya Sadovaya or to the Center for Combating Extremism on Saryan Street. They twisted many of their phones, and played the "What and When" game with almost everyone: where did you see Reznik, where is Reznik hiding, what is Reznik doing? Tell us this, tell us that. One well-known colleague [name, surname] gave testimony that representatives [of the investigative agency] wrote for him. Well, nothing surprising about that," Reznik said.

He noted that he doesn't expect a fair trial. "I'm watching the trial as an outside observer, prepared for any decision in absentia from these strange people. And they are indeed strange. And I will bear in absentia the honorary title of extremist and something else bestowed upon me by this country. The only problem, of course, is that my friends have practically stopped communicating with me. They're afraid. People are afraid to communicate," the journalist said.