A court in Moscow on March 29 formally charged Russian journalist Antonina Favorskaya with participating in an extremist organization in connection with alleged posts to websites and social media platforms tied to the foundation founded by late opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
The reporter for SOTAvision media outlet was charged during a closed-door hearing at the Basmanny Court of Moscow. According to investigators, she collected materials, filmed and edited videos, and created publications for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).
Favorskaya covered Navalny’s court hearings for years and filmed the last video showing the Kremlin critic alive on February 15 at a court hearing that he took part in over video link from an Arctic prison. The next day, Navalny suddenly died in the prison.
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Russia Charges Journalist Who Covered Navalny’s Trials
Kira Yarmysh, spokeswoman for Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said on March 28 after Favorskaya was ordered held in pretrial detention that the journalist did not post videos on the website of the FBK, which was labeled an extremist organization in 2021.
“The media write that Antonina Favorskaya was accused of publishing 'posts on FBK platforms.' Favorskaya did not publish anything on FBK, but even if we discard the falsity of the accusation, its essence remains -- the journalist is accused of journalistic activity,” Yarmysh said on X, formerly Twitter.
Favorskaya was scheduled to be released from prison on March 27 after serving 10 days in jail on a charge of disobedience to police orders filed after she was detained on March 17 in a cafe after visiting Navalny’s grave.
Favorskaya is one of several Russian journalists targeted by authorities as part of a sweeping crackdown against dissent in Russia that is aimed at opposition figures, journalists, activists, and members of the LGBT community.
Favorskaya denies the new charges, which could result in a six-year prison sentence if she is convicted.
According to Mediazona, she managed to tell reporters on March 29 that she was being tried for an article about how the Federal Penitentiary Service tortured Navalny.
The journalist's home was also searched after her arrest, and at her March 29 court appearance, she said that four rubber ducks were confiscated. The seizure of the ducks, a symbol of anti-corruption protests in 2017, showed the “absurdity of this whole process,” she said.