Russian journalist sentenced to 12 years over ties to opposition group
A court in the city of Ufa in Russia's Bashkortostan region found Olga Komleva, 46, guilty of involvement with an organization of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny that was officially branded 'extremist.' Following her closed-door trial, the judge also found Komleva guilty on charges of 'spreading false information' about the Russian military. She rejected the charges.
Komleva, who has been in custody since her arrest in March 2024, had worked as a volunteer at the regional branch of Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption before it was outlawed in 2021 in a move widely seen as politically motivated. She also worked for an independent news outlet and covered protests in the region.
Navalny was President Vladimir Putin's fiercest and most prominent foe and relentlessly campaigned against official corruption in Russia. Navalny died in February 2024 in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on a number of charges, including running an extremist group, which he had rejected as politically driven.
Russian authorities have intensified their crackdown on dissent after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, relentlessly targeting rights groups, independent media, members of civil society organizations, LGBTQ+ activists and certain religious affiliations. Hundreds of people have been jailed and thousands of others have fled the country.
In January, three lawyers who once represented Navalny were convicted and given sentences ranging from 3½ to five years on charges of involvement with an 'extremist' group. Four journalists were convicted in April on extremism charges for working for Navalny's group and sentenced them each to 5½ years in prison.
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