Russia arrests extra journalists in intensifying crackdown on dissent | EUROtoday

The Associated Press on Saturday reported that video journalist Sergey Karelin, who has labored with the AP, Deutsche Welle and different worldwide retailers had been arrested Friday within the Murmansk area in northern Russia and charged with extremism. He was positioned in custody pending trial.

The AP mentioned in an announcement it was “very concerned” by Karelin’s detention and was “seeking additional information.”

On Saturday, a Moscow courtroom despatched Konstantin Gabov, a Russian freelance journalist who has labored with Reuters, Deutsche Welle and different retailers, to a pretrial detention middle.

Both males are accused of working with the Anti-Corruption Foundation began by Alexei Navalny — President Vladimir Putin’s most outstanding political rival till his demise in an Arctic jail in February — which Russia has designated an “extremist organization.”

Navalny’s household accused the Kremlin of killing the opposition chief, a declare that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied. Western leaders have acknowledged that Putin bears accountability for his demise.

Both journalists have denied the fees towards them and resist six years in jail.

Meanwhile, Sergei Mingazov, a journalist with the Russian version of Forbes, was arrested within the jap metropolis of Khabarovsk on Friday and accused of spreading pretend information on social media about Russia’s navy, in keeping with his lawyer, Konstantin Bubon. He faces as much as 10 years in jail if convicted of reposting tales on Telegram concerning the killing of civilians by Russian forces within the Ukrainian metropolis of Bucha.

Kremlin-connected tycoon Magomed Musaev holds the license to publish Forbes Russia, which has reported on Mingazov’s case however has not commented.

A courtroom within the western metropolis of Kaliningrad final month jailed journalist Mikhail Feldman for 2 years for “discrediting the military” in social media posts denouncing the conflict. He was additionally banned from posting on-line for 2 years.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has jailed lots of of activists, opposition politicians, LGBTQ+ individuals, feminists, artists, poets and different perceived enemies, a part of what Amnesty International has referred to as an effort to “blindfold” the Russian public.

Russia has swept up plenty of different journalists in latest months for previous video or images work for Navalny’s group. At least six unbiased journalists had been arrested final month, a number of merely for reporting on Navalny’s imprisonment, demise and burial.

Antonina Favorskaya, a journalist with SOTAVision, a small unbiased outlet that publishes information about authorities repression on Telegram, was arrested over her reporting on Navalny and is in detention awaiting trial on extremism prices.

She was initially jailed for 10 days for insubordination to police after reporting from his gravesite; after her launch, she was instantly detained on the extra severe prices.

At least 4 journalists who lined her arrest and detention had been additionally detained, together with Alexandra Astakhova, Anastasia Musatova, Konstantin Zharov, and Ekaterina Anikievich.

Zharov, from the unbiased outlet RusNews was crushed by police and threatened with sexual violence, in keeping with Reporters Without Borders. Another RusNews journalist, Olga Komleva, was arrested within the metropolis of Ufa, about 800 miles east of Moscow, over her reporting on Navalny and allegations of involvement with the Anti-Corruption Foundation.

The Kremlin banned any criticism of the Russian armed forces in early 2022; after invading Ukraine, it additionally outlawed the reporting of unbiased info on the conflict, with native journalists restricted to regurgitating the Russian navy’s official model of occasions. Any reporting on Russian navy failures, its large conflict casualties, assaults on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, or allegations of Russian conflict crimes are punishable with jail time.

Russia has additionally focused Western journalists. Alsu Kurmasheva, a twin Russian American citizen based mostly in Prague for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was arrested final yr throughout a visit to go to household in Russia and charged with failing to register as a international agent.

The most high-profile case is that of the Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich, arrested simply over a yr in the past throughout a reporting journey to Yekaterinburg and charged with spying — allegations that he, his employer and the State Department have denied within the strongest phrases.

“Journalism’s clearly not a crime,” President Biden mentioned Saturday night time on the White House correspondents’ dinner. “And Putin should release Evan … immediately,” he added.