The crackdown on independent media in Russian mounted over the weekend, with two journalists having alleged ties to the late Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and Western news outlets being arrested and charged with “extremism.”
Russian courts on April 27-28 ordered the detention of Konstantin Gabov in Moscow and Sergei Karelin in Murmansk on charges that they worked with the Navalny Live YouTube channel.
Both men denied the allegations against them.
SEE ALSO: 'I'm Not Going To Quit': Facing Prison, Soviet-Era Dissident Skobov Speaks Out Against War, RepressionGabov was ordered into pretrial detention for two months after prosecutors accused him of taking part in the activities of an extremist organization, saying he had prepared videos and photographs for Navalny Live.
Navalny Live is run by supporters of Navalny, a vocal Kremlin critic who died in an Arctic prison in February under mysterious circumstances.
Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which broadcasts on YouTube from outside Russia, has been designated a "foreign agent" and an extremist group by Russian authorities, actions often used by the Kremlin to silence independent voices, especially since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Court video showed Gabov in a courtroom cage with his arms folded. Records indicated he has worked for foreign and domestic news outlets, including Reuters and Deutsche Welle, the German state broadcaster.
Separately, police in the northern city of Murmansk detained Karelin, 41, also on “extremism” charges after prosecutors alleged he cooperated with Navalny’s team and created videos for the YouTube channel.
Some reports said Karelin was detained on April 26.
Karelin, a video journalist and cameraman, had worked with AP and Deutsche Welle, among other outlets, according to court records.
The Kholod media group, which operates from outside Russia, on April 9 estimated that at least 53 people, and probably many more, had been arrested for their work related to the Navalny foundation.
On March 29, a Moscow court charged Russian journalist Antonina Favorskaya, a reporter for SOTAvision media, with participating in an extremist organization in connection with alleged posts to websites and social media platforms tied to the Navalny foundation.
According to investigators, she collected materials, filmed and edited videos, and created publications for Navalny’s foundation.
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 a video link from an Arctic prison. The next day, Navalny suddenly died in the prison.
Western leaders and rights groups have regularly condemned the arrests of journalists and the crackdown on independent voices in Russia.
European lawmakers on April 25 approved a resolution that called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of all political prisoners held in Russia, including journalists Alsu Kurmasheva of RFE/RL and Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal.