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The offices of the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg were searched as part of an investigation into the promotion of Russian propaganda.
As the Belgian prosecutor’s office specified, the searches took place at workplaces and in the house of an employee of the European Parliament, Radio Liberty reports. In the message of the Belgian prosecutor’s office, it is said that the person who was searched could have played an important role in the connections of some MEPs with the publication Voice of Europe, which the European Union included in the sanctions lists for spreading Kremlin narratives and disinformation about Ukraine. At that time, the Voice of Europe editorial office denied the EU’s accusations and stated that the sanctions against them violate freedom of speech.
The MEP, whose assistant was searched, said that no one had warned anyone about such actions. He also stated that he was “not involved in any so-called Russian disinformation operation.”
Russian propaganda in Europe
Belgian prosecutors have launched an investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the work of the European Parliament after Czech intelligence uncovered a network using EU lawmakers to spread Kremlin narratives.
Jacek Dobzynski, the spokesman for the coordinator of the Polish special services, said at the time that the special services of several EU countries, in particular, Poland and the Czech Republic, had exposed a spy network financed by the Russian Federation.