4 Russian journalists accused of working for Navalny group go on trial

TALLINN, Estonia — 

Four Russian journalists went connected proceedings successful Moscow connected Wednesday aft being accused of moving for an anti-corruption radical founded by the precocious Russian absorption person Alexey Navalny, which was designated by authorities arsenic an extremist enactment successful 2021.

Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Sergey Karelin and Konstantin Gabov were arrested earlier this twelvemonth and charged with engagement with an extremist group, a transgression discourtesy punishable by up to six years successful prison. All 4 person rejected the charges.

The trial, which is being held down closed doors, is the latest measurement successful the Kremlin's unrelenting crackdown connected dissent that has reached unprecedented levels aft Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine much than 2 years ago. The authorities person targeted absorption figures, autarkic journalists, rights activists and mean Russians captious of the Kremlin with transgression and misdemeanor charges, jailing hundreds and prompting thousands to permission the country, fearing prosecution.

The 4 journalists were accused of moving with Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which was designated arsenic extremist and outlawed by the Russian authorities successful 2021. That designation has been wide seen arsenic politically motivated.

Navalny was President Vladimir Putin's fiercest and astir salient foe and relentlessly campaigned against authoritative corruption successful Russia. In February, Navalny died successful a distant Arctic situation portion serving a 19-year condemnation connected a fig of charges, including moving an extremist group, which helium had rejected arsenic politically driven.

Favorskaya and Kriger worked with SotaVision, an autarkic Russian quality outlet that covers protests and governmental trials. Gabov is simply a freelance shaper who has worked for aggregate organizations, including Reuters. Karelin is simply a freelance video writer who has done enactment for Western media outlets, including The Associated Press.

As they were led into the courtroom connected Wednesday, a assemblage of supporters greeted them with applause. In the courtroom, the 4 smiled astatine their loved ones from a solid defendant's cage.

Addressing reporters from down the glass, Kriger formed the lawsuit against him and his chap journalists arsenic a cautionary communicative and urged journalists inactive successful Russia to permission the country: "It is not a joke. Any idiosyncratic tin beryllium charged with anything."

Favorskaya, successful turn, spoke astir hope: "Everything that is happening now, the acheronian that surrounds us, it is not forever, and we volition decidedly spot the state that Alexei [Navalny] dreamed of, we volition decidedly unrecorded successful a state wherever rights and freedoms volition beryllium [respected] and journalists and different radical volition not beryllium jailed for their views."

Shortly aft the proceeding began, the justice ordered that the proceedings beryllium held down closed doors upon a petition from the prosecution, adjacent though the defence objected to it.