Dear friends!
Our website is regularly blocked and our posts on our Facebook page are deleted by order of a Cypriot court. The reason for this is complaints filed by Russian Cypriot Alexei Gubarev, who has ties to Russian special services and Kremlin oligarchs, and his henchman, Oleg Reshetnikov.
The reason for the blocking was our article «Gubarev’s delivery: Putin’s IT specialists are taking over Cyprus,» which described the inexplicable influence of Gubarev and his association TechIsland on the Cypriot government and the political processes of this EU member state. In it, we pointed out his ties to Russian special services and discussed his possible political ambitions. Everything stated in the article is confirmed by open sources, including an article in Forbes entitled «Northern Import: How Russian-speaking migrants changed Cyprus,» documents, and eyewitness accounts.
However, the Limassol District Court, without even attempting to verify the facts, found the article to be defamatory, ordered it to be removed, and… banned the publication of any information about Gubarev in the future. Here is a direct quote from the court ruling:
«Any other publications, information or materials relating to the plaintiff and/or mentioning the plaintiff’s name or directly or indirectly referring to the plaintiff are prohibited.»
Thus, the Cypriot court has declared any information about Gubarev illegal in advance. This confirms the main thesis of our article about Gubarev’s influence on the state institutions of the Republic of Cyprus. As it turns out, this influence extends to the judicial system as well. Without checking the materials or examining the evidence, the court openly took his side. There could be no more convincing proof of our case.
Alexey Gubarev and Oleg Reshetnikov could easily have published a rebuttal of our article and publicly presented evidence of their case. But they did not do so. Why? Because nothing published in our article can be refuted. Instead, they chose to go to court, where, as it has now become known, Gubarev has the resources and influence to achieve a ban on publication not through the force of argument, but through pressure.
After the first block, the website was restored, and on June 3, we published a joint investigation with Kyrgyz journalist Bolot Temirov on Gubarev’s corruption schemes in Kyrgyzstan and his possible involvement in gold smuggling. Our article was titled «The Golden Flight of a Russian Cypriot: Alexei Gubarev’s Corruption Schemes in Kyrgyzstan,» and Temirov’s investigation was posted on YouTube under the title «The Gold of ‘Sabyr Ava‘ and 45 Hectares of Bishkek Land Go to Cyprus.»
A few days later, our website was blocked again. And on June 19, YouTube, based on the decision of the same Limassol court, restricted access to Bolot Temirov’s investigation in the Republic of Cyprus.
The video is available via VPN.
There is nothing in the video that could be considered defamation — only facts, only the truth. But the Cypriot court, again at Gubarev’s request, declared the truth to be defamation and banned Bolot Temirov’s investigative video on Cypriot territory.
All these events raise a logical question: why is the court openly acting in Gubarev’s interests? The answer is obvious: influence. The judges are either acting under pressure or simply carrying out a political order. There is no other explanation for their decisions.
Gubarev is using all possible means to remove the truth about himself from the internet. His lawyers, armed with court decisions, are pursuing hosting companies around the world and demanding that they remove information about him. Recently, his representatives filed a lawsuit under a false pretext against one of the companies hosting our website, seeking to have it shut down. They offered the host to withdraw the lawsuit in exchange for removing our resource — which was done.
What is Gubarev afraid of? He is afraid of the truth we publish about him: his ties to the FSB, his involvement in schemes with oligarch Abramovich, his support for Putin’s regime, his influence on the Cypriot government, corruption in Kyrgyzstan, and possible gold smuggling. All of these are potential grounds for sanctions, deprivation of Lithuanian and Cypriot citizenship, and criminal prosecution. He feels safe in Cyprus — the local authorities and courts are openly on his side. But he is afraid of an investigation by the European Union authorities, where his influence ends.
Today, the Cypriot court is a tool of censorship in the hands of Gubarev and other Russian oligarchs with EU passports. Freedom of speech is suppressed through legal mechanisms at their behest.
The Cypriot legal system has long served the interests of wealthy Russians, who skillfully use the republic’s legislation to protect their reputation and block critical publications. Criticism of Russia and its crimes is virtually non-existent in the Cypriot media. And articles about Russian businessmen with Cypriot citizenship, such as Alexei Gubarev, are either promotional texts or openly laudatory publications, as if there were no journalistic standards or concept of public interest in the country.
Cyprus is increasingly becoming a political and economic colony of Moscow, where real power is in the hands of wealthy Russian businessmen with close ties to the Kremlin and the special services.
It is not surprising that freedom of speech in Cyprus is not protected but systematically suppressed, including with the active participation of the judiciary.
Despite everything, we are continuing our work and will seek an investigation into the activities of Gubarev and other «Russian Cypriots» with links to the Kremlin and Russian special services. We will not be silenced. We cannot be intimidated because we have the truth on our side. And it is the truth that Gubarev and his ilk fear so much.
The Cyprus Daily News team
Watch the Temirov Live investigation via VPN:
«The Gold of ‘Sabyr Ava’ and 45 Hectares of Bishkek Land Go to Cyprus.»
Read more on the topic:
Gubarev’s importation: Putin’s IT guys take over Cyprus
Russian Capital and Technology: How Putin’s Oligarchs Penetrate European Business Through Cyprus
A journalist is on trial in Cyprus for an article he did not write
“Golden Flight” of a Russian Cypriot: Alexey Gubarev’s Corrupt Schemes in Kyrgyzstan
Cyprus justice with a Russian accent