Russian court ruled on Tuesday that four extremist journalists were sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison for work on an anti-corruption group founded by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Antonina Favorskaya, Kostantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin and Artyom Kriger were convicted of being associated with groups marked as extremists. All four of them maintained their innocence, believing they were prosecuted for their work as journalists.
The closed trial was part of a relentless crackdown on objections, reaching an unprecedented scale after Moscow Send troops into Ukraine February 2022.
Authorities target opposition figures, independent journalists, rights activists and ordinary Russians to prosecute, hundreds of incarceration and Promotes thousands of countries to flee.
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Favorskaya and Kriger work with Sotavision, an independent Russian news media covering protests and political trials. Gabov is a freelancer who has worked in several organizations, including Reuters. Freedom Video reporter Karelin did work for Western media media including the Associated Press.
The four journalists are accused of working with Navalny’s The foundation for fighting corruptiondesignated as an extremist and was widely regarded as a politically motivated move in 2021.
Navalny is Vladimir Putin Ruthlessly campaigned Oppose official corruption in Russia. Navani Died in February 2024 In the Arctic Criminal Colony 19 years in prison Among many allegations, including running an extremist group, he rejected the political drive.
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Favorskaya said she was charged for her story of abusing Navalny’s prison when an earlier court appearance was open to the public. Before the verdict, she spoke to the reporter in the defendant cage and she also said she was punished for helping Organize Navani’s funeral.
In the closing remarks prepared for the court, Gabov, the statement was published by the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, said the allegations against him were groundless and prosecutors failed to prove them.
“I know very well … which country I live in. Russia has never been different throughout history, and nothing new in the current situation,” Gabov said in the statement. “Independent journalism equals extremism.”
Karelin Novaya GazetaHe said he had agreed to conduct street interviews for popular politics, a YouTube channel founded by colleagues Navani while trying to support his wife and a child. He stressed that the channel was not banned as an extremist and did not engage in any illegal acts.
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“Repentance is considered a relief situation. It is the criminals who need to feel repentance for everything they do. However, I was jailed for work because of my honesty and fair attitude towards journalism, love for my family and country,” he wrote in another lawsuit, “he also published his will for his media and emphasized his feelings.
Kriger said in his closing remarks published by Sotavision that he was imprisoned and joined the Russian Financial Intelligence Agency’s registry of extremists and terrorists “just because I seriously fulfilled my professional duties as an honest, honest and independent journalist for 4 1/2 years.”
“Don’t despair, sooner or later, those who deliver the sentences will be left behind,” Krieg said after the verdict.
Following the verdict, supporters gathered in the courthouse were blamed and applauded.
The Russian Human Rights Group Memorial Hall designated the four people as political prisoners, with more than 900 others in the country. That number includes Mikhail Kriger, Artyom Kriger’s uncle, a Moscow activist who was arrested in 2022 and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Mikhail Kriger, who was convicted of justifying terrorism and incited hate for Facebook comments, expressed his desire to “hang” Putin.
The four journalists are not the only ones associated with Navalny, who face charges from the Russian legal system. In January, three lawyers defending Navalny were sentenced to jail for joining an “extremist group”. The lawyer helped pass on Navani’s prison statement to the world before his death. Vadim Kobzev, the most eye-catching member of the team, was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison. Alexey Lipster was sentenced to five years in prison and Igor Sergunin was sentenced to 3 1/2 years.
According to reports, five months after Navani’s death, in July 2024, Russia Issuing an arrest warrant For his wife, Yulia Navalnaya. The country accused Navana of participating in “extremist organizations.” Navalnaya, who lives in Germany and was appointed chairman of the Human Rights Foundation in July 2024, mocked the decision on social media.
