Four independent Russian journalists went on trial Wednesday for “extremism” charges related to their alleged work for late opposition activist Alexei Navalny’s team.
Antonina Favorskaya, Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin and Artyom Kriger, who have all reported on Navalny as journalists, were detained this spring and summer on charges of “participating in an extremist community.” They were accused of “collecting material, preparing and editing videos” for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and the NavalnyLIVE YouTube channel.
If found guilty, the journalists face up to six years in prison.
Russian authorities banned Navalny’s activist and political groups including FBK as “extremist” in 2021, putting employees, volunteers and supporters at risk of criminal prosecution.
Video published by the independent Mediazona news website showed onlookers in the Nagatino District Court in southern Moscow erupting in applause as bailiffs escorted the journalists into the courtroom.
“All this will end and people will stop being sent to prison for not wanting war or for working as a journalist,” Favorskaya told reporters ahead of the hearing.
Favorskaya had covered Navalny’s court hearings and filmed the last known video of the Kremlin critic before his Feb. 16 death in an Arctic penal colony.
Favorskaya and Kriger’s employer, the independent news outlet SOTAvision, has repeatedly denied the accusations against them, saying neither journalist had ever worked for Navalny’s organizations.
Gabov reportedly worked for Reuters and the Russian television channels Moskva 24 and MIR, as well as the Belarusian news agency Belsat. Karelin has done work for the Associated Press.
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