Defendant in controversial terrorism case says murder allegations reported by ‘Meduza’ are ‘insane’

Dmitry Pchelintsev, a defendant in the Penza Network case, has stated in a letter to MBK Media journalist Zoya Svetova that he has no connection to the information presented in a recent investigative report by Meduza about his alleged role in drug dealing and a potential homicide. 

“To say that I’m shocked would be an understatement,” Pchelintsev wrote in his letter. “I have absolutely no connections to Ekaterina Levchenko and Artyom Dorofeyev. I’m not even sure that I understand who we’re talking about, because I haven’t seen their photographs. I can only guess that I saw Artyom when I was working as a waiter, but we didn’t speak to each other. I have no information about their disappearance, except for the story that circulated as rumors.”

Pchelintsev also denies allegations that he trafficked or used illegal drugs. “The story about marijuana and mushrooms is insane. It was invented in the offices of the Federal Security Service,” he wrote.

Earlier this month, Meduza published an investigative report about accusations that some defendants in the Network case might be involved in a double murder. In 2017, two individuals who frequently spent time with suspects in the Network case, Artyom Dorofeyev and Ekaterina Levchenko, suddenly disappeared in Penza. In February 2019, forensics experts confirmed that remains discovered in the woods outside Ryazan belonged to Dorofeyev. Levchenko is still missing to this day.

Now living abroad, Network case suspect Alexey Poltavets told Meduza that he was involved in the murder of Dorofeyev and Levchenko. He claims the two were killed on orders from Dmitry Pchelintsev. 

On February 27, state investigators opened a murder case related to Ekaterina Levchenko’s disappearance.