A Russian court has convicted four journalists of extremism for working for an anti-corruption group founded by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny and sentenced them to five and a half years in prison each.
Antonina Favorskaya, Konstantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin and Artyom Kriger were found guilty of involvement with a group that had been labelled as extremist. All four had maintained their innocence, arguing they were being prosecuted for doing their jobs as journalists.
The closed-door trial was part of a crackdown on dissent that has reached an unprecedented scale since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
The authorities have targeted opposition figures, independent journalists, rights activists and ordinary Russians critical of the Kremlin with prosecution, jailing hundreds and prompting thousands to flee the country.
Favorskaya and Kriger worked with Sota Vision, an independent Russian news outlet that covers protests and political trials. Gabov is a freelance producer who has worked for multiple organisations, including Reuters. Karelin, a freelance video journalist, has done work for western media outlets including the Associated Press.
The four journalists were accused of working with Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was designated as extremist and outlawed in 2021 in a move widely seen as politically motivated.
Navalny was Vladimir Putin’s fiercest and most prominent critic and relentlessly campaigned against official corruption in Russia. Navalny died in February 2024 in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence for several charges, including running an extremist group, which he had rejected as politically driven.
Favorskaya said at an earlier court appearance open to the public that she was being prosecuted for a story she wrote on abuse Navalny had faced behind bars. Speaking to reporters from the defendants’ cage before the verdict, she also said she was punished for helping to organise Navalny’s funeral.
Gabov, in a closing statement prepared for court that was published by the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, said the accusations against him were groundless and the prosecution had failed to prove them.
“I understand perfectly well … what kind of country I live in. Throughout history, Russia has never been different, there is nothing new in the current situation,” Gabov said in the statement. “Independent journalism is equated to extremism.”
Supporters who gathered in the court building chanted and applauded as the four journalists were led out of the courtroom after the verdict.
The journalists’ lawyers said they would appeal against the verdict, which Kriger’s lawyer, Yelena Sheremetyeva, described as illegal and unfair.
“The profession of a journalist in itself is not extremism,” said Irina Biryukova. “And based on the case materials that are available, I will say that in our opinion, there is no evidence that they committed any crimes, or even minor offences.”
She said the four were “holding up” and were “happy that so many people came”.
The Russian human rights group Memorial designated all four as political prisoners, among more than 900 others held in the country.
