Moscow has stepped up efforts to stamp out dissent since launching the assault on Ukraine, with most high-profile opponents in exile or behind bars.
Muratov was seen recently in Russia, being part of the legal team defending his friend Oleg Orlov, co-chair of Russia’s human rights organization Memorial.
In 2021, Muratov who works as the chief editor of Russia’s top independent publication Novaya Gazeta, shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Philippines’ Maria Ressa for their respective fights for freedom of expression.
Since 2000, Novaya Gazeta has seen six of its journalists and contributors killed, including investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in Moscow on President Vladimir Putin’s birthday.