Russia: IFJ/EFJ demand immediate release of journalists Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin

Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin are the latest journalists to be arrested in Russia for "extremism" following their alleged work with Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Both journalists were previously employed by international news platforms. Gabov worked for Reuters, Karelin for Deutsche Welle and Associated Press. While they have denied the charges, they will face up to six years in prison if convicted. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) demand the immediate release of the journalists and reiterate the condemnation of the Russian authorities' continued crackdown on independent journalists.

Credit: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP

On 27 March 2024, Sergei Karelin, who has dual Russian and Israeli citizenship, was the second journalist arrested in the Murmansk region of northwest Russia, a day after Konstantin Gabov's detention in Moscow. Both journalists are facing a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of six years for alleged "participation in an extremist organisation". They are accused of "extremism" following their alleged preparation of photo and video materials for the YouTube channel "NavalnyLIVE," run by FBK, labeled an "extremist organisation" and outlawed by Russian authorities in 2021. As reportedby the court's press service on Telegram, Gabov will remain in pre-trial detention until at least 27 June.

Other people connected to the Navalny Live YouTube channel have been arrested and prosecuted previously. According to Andrei Jvirblis, International Secretary of the Journalists' and Media Workers' Union (JMWU), "Out of the fifty-three defendants in the FBK extremist case, eighteen have already been convicted while nineteen managed to leave Russia before being arrested: almost all were sentenced in absentia and are wanted in absentia". "Sixteen other people are awaiting trial: twelve are in pre-trial detention centers, one person is under a restraining order, another is free with an obligation to appear, and the status of two persons remains unknown," added Jvirblis.

"We stand in full solidarity with Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin and with all independent journalists who are under ongoing pressure from the Kremlin aimed at silencing dissenting voices," said IFJ and EFJ.