Journalist detained in Rostov on suspicion of blackmail

Margarita Efremova, a journalist of the newspaper "Yuzhny Federalny" (Southern Federal), was detained in one of Rostov cafes. She is suspected of extorting money from the administration head of the head of the ROVD (District Interior Division) of the Morozov District.

As reported by the Chief Department (CD) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Rostov Region, Margarita Efremova called the head of the Morozov District and, posing herself the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, demanded to pay 500,000 roubles to her. Otherwise, she threatened to publish the information compromising the activities of the district head and ROVD chief.

The head of the ROVD immediately addressed the regional police division of own safety. A date was appointed in central Rostov, where Efremova received the marked money and was immediately detained.

Then, the CD employees made a search at the editorial office of the "Yuzhny Federalny", the RIA "Novosti" reports.

As reported by the website of the "Yuzhny Federalny" newspaper, in parallel with Margarita Efremova's documents, the agents also confiscated the articles of other authors of the edition and materials on corruption among law enforcers of Rostov, prepared for publication.

The employees of the edition, including its editor-in-chief Maxim Fedorenko, are sure that their colleague was innocent. The home page of the paper's website treats the incident as "police arbitrariness" and gives data that the Union of Journalists of Russia, the South Russian Guild of Court Reporters and the editorial board of the "Yuzhny Federalny" as such stand against the arrest of Margaret Efremova.

The edition has reported that they possess the materials prepared by Margarita Efremova, which evidence, as stated in the report, "involvement of Rostov policemen in the activities of organized criminal groupings of the Region."

In its turn, the press service of the CD of Russian MIA for the Rostov Region has reported that the police and the prosecutor's office had earlier repeatedly checked the facts, and none of them had been confirmed. "Employees of the division of own safety have gathered enough proofs of Efremova's involvement in the crime," said the press service.