Fake press card sent to Ihor by “Ilona”. Photo: Zerkalo

Two individuals, falsely hired through Telegram by individuals posing as journalists from Novaya Gazeta Europe, have been detained in Lithuania attempting to conduct an interview with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, independent Belarusian news site Zerkalo reported on Wednesday.

One of the detained individuals, Ihor — an 18-year-old Ukrainian citizen who has lived in Vilnius since 2022 — told Zerkalo he genuinely believed he was working with Novaya Gazeta Europe’s editorial team.

Shortly prior to scheduling the interview with Tsikhanouskaya, Ihor says he had posted in a Telegram group that he was looking for freelance work. A few days later, he received a message from a woman calling herself Ilona, who introduced herself as an editor with Novaya Gazeta Europe.

“Ilona” wrote that she was looking for someone to film an interview with Tsikhanouskaya on the publication’s behalf. She sent Ihor €100 in advance of the interview, and sent the location where it would take place, as well as contact information for the opposition leader’s press secretary.

According to Zerkalo, in addition, “Ilona” sent Ihor a list of questions. They concerned the recent release of Belarusian opposition figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski, his plans for the near future, his position on sanctions, as well as Lithuania’s attitude towards Belarusians.

To Ihor, there were no red flags. “I didn’t doubt that Ilona really was from Novaya Gazeta Europe,” he told Zerkalo. “I was fully confident when they sent over press credentials with the publication’s logo.”

Ihor enlisted his friend, a Lithuanian citizen, to assist with the filming of the interview. He says neither had reason to believe they were being deceived.

But Ihor and his associate’s behaviour, as well as the documents they submitted for inspection, aroused suspicion in the Tsikhanouskaya camp, and press secretary Anna Krasulina quickly reported her concerns to the opposition leader’s chief political advisor, Franak Viačorka, after which they contacted Novaya Gazeta Europe editor-in-chief Kirill Martynov.

“He confirmed that Novaya had indeed planned an interview with Sviatlana — but the two individuals had nothing to do with the outlet,” Viačorka told Zerkalo.

After this, the police were quickly called to the interview location. Ihor and his associate had their equipment confiscated and were taken in for questioning. According to Zerkalo, Lithuanian authorities are currently investigating the incident.

This is not the first time that unknown individuals have presented themselves as journalists from Novaya Gazeta Europe. As reported at the end of May, several politicians and public figures in Europe have received interview requests from individuals falsely claiming to work with Novaya Europe.

Novaya Gazeta Europe is currently investigating who is using its name and identity with dishonest intent, and urges all recipients of media requests to verify credentials via its editorial office, and to confirm that all correspondence is being sent from an official email address ending in “novayagazeta.eu”.