Four journalists accused of working for the banned organisation of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been sentenced by a Moscow court to five and a half years in a penal colony, in the latest example of Russia’s unrelenting crackdown on dissent and press freedom.
Antonina Favorskaya, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov, and Artem Kriger were found guilty of taking part in extremist activities.
They were arrested last year and have been on trial behind closed doors since October.
As they arrived for the hearing, the defendants were cheered by their friends and family, who were allowed into the courtroom for the verdict.
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Image: Pic: Reuters 
Image: Alexei Navalny. File pic
Prosecutors had accused the four of creating material for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which is outlawed as an extremist organisation by Russianauthorities.
Opposition activists and the journalists’ legal teams have dismissed the trial as politically motivated.
“The verdict is unlawful and unjust,” Elena Sheremetyeva, the lawyer representing Kriger, told reporters outside court.
“The preliminary investigation did not provide any proof, any lawful evidence, that shows the guilt of my client, and that is why we will appeal the verdict.”
Gabov and Karelin are freelance video journalists, who have previously worked for Western media outlets, including Reuters and The Associated Press, respectively.
Image: Antonina Favorskaya is brought into court in March 2024. File pic: AP
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Favorskaya and Kriger worked for SOTAVision, an independent Russian news outlet which is designated as a foreign agent by the authorities.
The case follows the jailing of three of Navalny’s former defence lawyers in January on similar charges.
Navalny, who was Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic, died suddenly in a remote Arctic penal colony in February last year.
Image: The Nagatinsky District Court, where the trial took place behind closed doors. Pic: Reuters
The 47-year-old anti-corruption campaigner had been jailed on multiple charges, ranging from fraud to extremism, which he said were fabricated in order to silence him.
His family and supporters accuse President Putin of ordering his murder, while the Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in his death.
