Two Russian journalists arrested over alleged work for Navalny group
Al Jazeera
Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin deny ‘extremism’ charges related to group founded by late anti-Putin dissident.
Two Russian journalists have been arrested by their government on “extremism” charges and ordered by courts to remain in custody pending investigation and trial on accusations of working for a group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny.
Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin both denied the charges for which they will be detained for a minimum of two months before any trials begin. Each faces a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of six years for alleged “participation in an extremist organisation”, according to Russian courts.
They are just the latest journalists arrested amid a Russian crackdown on dissent and independent media that intensified after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.
The Russian government passed laws criminalising what it deems false information about the military, or statements seen as discrediting the military, effectively outlawing any criticism of the war in Ukraine or speech that deviates from the official narrative.
A journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, Sergei Mingazov, was detained on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military, his lawyer said on Friday.
