Russia cracks down on opposition by arresting more journalists.
Over the past few days, Russia has taken further action against independent reporters and media outlets by arresting two Russian journalists on allegations of “extremism.” This is the latest move in a growing campaign against these groups. A third Russian journalist who worked for Forbes Russia was accused of producing what the authorities referred to as “fake news.”
It is likely that the growing use of anti-extremism laws to prosecute reporters, which is one component of a larger campaign to stifle domestic dissent during Russia’s war in Ukraine, will have an additional chilling effect on the few independent journalists who are still operating in Russia. The majority of these journalists are freelancers or employees of small outlets that have few legal protections.
Sergey Karelin, a video journalist who has worked with the Associated Press, Deutsche Welle, and other international publications, was arrested on Friday in the Murmansk region of northern Russia and accused with extremism, according to a report that was published by the Associated Press on Saturday. Karelin came under arrest in the territory. In anticipation of his trial, he was taken into custody.
In a statement, the Associated Press expressed that it was “very concerned” about the incarceration of Karelin and that it was “seeking additional information.”
A Russian freelance journalist named Konstantin Gabov, who has worked for Reuters, Deutsche Welle, and other outlets, was transferred to a pretrial detention center on Saturday by a court in Moscow.
Both men are suspected of working with the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was established by Alexei Navalny, who was President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent political challenger until his death in an Arctic jail in February. Russia has referred to the foundation as a “extremist organization.”
The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, refuted the allegations made by Navalny’s family, which stated that the Kremlin was responsible for the death of the opposition leader. They have asserted that Putin is responsible for his death, and Western politicians have agreed with them.
Both journalists have rejected the allegations that have been made against them, and may be sentenced to up to six years in prison.
BY SIRAJ April -29-2024 EAST 11: 24 [COURTESY WASHINGTON POST]
During this time, Sergei Mingazov, a journalist who works for the Russian version of Forbes, was taken into custody on Friday in the city of Khabarovsk, which is located in the eastern part of the country. According to his attorney, Konstantin Bubon, Mingazov is accused of distributing false information about Russia’s military on social media. If he is found guilty of reposting reports on Telegram detailing the massacre of people by Russian soldiers in the city of Bucha, which is located in Ukraine, he risks a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.
Magomed Musaev, a millionaire with connections to the Kremlin, is the owner of the license to print Forbes Russia. Forbes Russia has reported on Mingazov’s case, but the publication has not commented on it.
A journalist named Mikhail Feldman was sentenced to two years in prison by a court in the city of Kaliningrad, which is located in the western region of Russia, for “discrediting the military” in social media posts that condemned the war. Additionally, he was subject to a two-year prohibition on posting on the internet.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Vladimir Putin has imprisoned hundreds of activists, opposition politicians, LGBTQ+ individuals, feminists, artists, poets, and other people who are deemed to be opponents. This is part of what Amnesty International has referred to as an effort to “blindfold” the Russian public.
Over the past few months, Russia has taken a number of other journalists into custody for having previously worked with Navalny’s organization in the areas of videography or photography. At least six independent journalists were taken into custody during the previous month, with several of them being detained solely for reporting on the confinement, death, and burial of Navalny.
