MOSCOW, January 25 (RAPSI) – Dutch journalist Max van der Werff petitioned Russia’s Investigative Committee to open a criminal case over defamation against The Insider Editor in Chief Roman Dobrokhotov, who, as the journalist alleges, said that he had worked for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff (GRU), lawyer Stalina Gurevich told RAPSI on Monday.

Other potential defendants in the case are yet unidentified GRU officers, according to the lawyer.

The Insider published false information that the journalist secretly cooperates with GRU and is paid by the Directorate to disseminate materials about the crush of the Malaysian Boeing MH17 in 2014. Dobrokhotov also put a link to The Insider article on his Twitter adding that van der Werff commits a crime working for the Russian intelligence service, the petition reads.

The lawyer cited an expert opinion saying that the article published by The Insider and Dobrokhotov’s Twit contain “negative information” about the journalist and that it is planned to turn to courts in order to protect his honor and dignity.