Latest news with #Kevorkova
Voice of America
12-03-2025
- Voice of America
March 12, 2025
4 Russian journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova, who was detained in May 2024 on allegations of "justifying terrorism," stands inside an enclosure for defendants while waiting for the verdict announcement during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia. Kevorkova was found guilty, fined and released from custody.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia fines veteran journalist for 'justifying terrorism'
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian military court fined veteran war correspondent Nadezhda Kevorkova 600,000 roubles ($6,900) on Wednesday after finding her guilty of "justifying terrorism". A Reuters reporter in the courtroom said Kevorkova was released from custody, where she had been held throughout the investigation and trial. The 66-year-old has reported extensively in the Middle East and is the author of numerous books about Palestine. She was arrested in May 2024 in Moscow and has maintained her innocence. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. "I have never supported and do not support any political organisations. I do not support terrorist activity," Kevorkova was cited by Russian independent outlet Mediazona as saying in court. According to her lawyer, the case against her stemmed from a post she wrote on her Telegram channel about Afghanistan's Taliban. Russia added the Taliban to its terrorist list in 2003, but last December approved a bill allowing for its ban on the group to be removed. The September 2020 post concerned efforts by the Taliban to secure the release of its fighters from Afghan prisons, Mediazona reported. The prosecution case was also based on a text written by a fellow Russian journalist which Kevorkova reposted on Telegram, about a deadly raid by Islamist militants in southern Russia in 2005. Reuters was not able to locate the original posts. Russia has in recent months taken steps towards recognising Afghanistan's Taliban government, which seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal after 20 years of war. Last summer President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban Russia's "ally" in fighting terrorism. A well-known Russian playwright and theatre director, Svetlana Petriychuk and Yevgenia Berkovich, were jailed for six years last July for "justifying terrorism" after they staged a play about Russian women who marry Islamic State fighters. At least 40 media professionals are currently behind bars in Russia, according to Reporters without Borders, a press freedom organisation. ($1 = 87.0455 roubles)
Reuters
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia fines veteran journalist for 'justifying terrorism'
MOSCOW, March 12 (Reuters) - A Russian military court fined veteran war correspondent Nadezhda Kevorkova 600,000 roubles ($6,900) on Wednesday after finding her guilty of "justifying terrorism". A Reuters reporter in the courtroom said Kevorkova was released from custody, where she had been held throughout the investigation and trial. The 66-year-old has reported extensively in the Middle East and is the author of numerous books about Palestine. She was arrested in May 2024 in Moscow and has maintained her innocence. "I have never supported and do not support any political organisations. I do not support terrorist activity," Kevorkova was cited by Russian independent outlet Mediazona as saying in court. According to her lawyer, the case against her stemmed from a post she wrote on her Telegram channel about Afghanistan's Taliban. Russia added the Taliban to its terrorist list in 2003, but last December approved a bill allowing for its ban on the group to be removed. The September 2020 post concerned efforts by the Taliban to secure the release of its fighters from Afghan prisons, Mediazona reported. The prosecution case was also based on a text written by a fellow Russian journalist which Kevorkova reposted on Telegram, about a deadly raid by Islamist militants in southern Russia in 2005. Reuters was not able to locate the original posts. Russia has in recent months taken steps towards recognising Afghanistan's Taliban government, which seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal after 20 years of war. Last summer President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban Russia's "ally" in fighting terrorism. A well-known Russian playwright and theatre director, Svetlana Petriychuk and Yevgenia Berkovich, were jailed for six years last July for "justifying terrorism" after they staged a play about Russian women who marry Islamic State fighters. At least 40 media professionals are currently behind bars in Russia, according to Reporters without Borders, a press freedom organisation. ($1 = 87.0455 roubles)
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian court accuses veteran journalist of 'justifying terrorism'
Russian prosecutors on Monday accused a veteran journalist of "justifying terrorism" -- a charge punishable by up to seven years in prison -- as her trial opened amid a widespread crackdown on independent media. Moscow has hugely stepped efforts to quash dissent as it fights in Ukraine and regularly accuses anyone deemed not to toe the official line of "justifying terrorism". Prosecutors accuse Nadezhda Kevorkova, a respected 66-year old journalist who specialises in the Middle East, of "publicly justifying and calling for terrorism... with the aim of shaping public opinion". The accusation is based on two social media posts, one from 2020 on the Taliban and a re-post from another journalist in 2018 about a 2005 Islamist raid on the Russian city of Nalchik. Kevorkova, who was arrested in May, has written for Russia's top media outlets including Novaya Gazeta and has also written for pro-Kremlin media such as Russia Today. At court on Monday, Kevorkova, who had her hair tied back in a bun and wore a black dress with white stripes, waved to a group of around 20 supporters, including fellow journalists, from behind the glass defendant's cage. She told the judge she understood the charges against her, and is expected to testify at a hearing later this week. Her lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov said a verdict could be delivered within days. The Taliban is officially banned by Moscow, though Moscow has forged ties with the Islamist authorities that now govern Afghanistan. Akhilgov said any mention of the group is "very sensitive" for security services, especially after the March 2024 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack. "The Talibs, as you know, come to Russia, meet with high-ranked representatives of our country," Akhilgov told AFP. "But formally the Taliban from 2003 is on a list of banned terrorist organisations... And formally, of course, any mention of the Taliban in a positive context suggests that this is a justification of terrorism." The Kremlin has exerted a tight grip on Russian media under President Vladimir Putin's long rule, but its control of the press since launching the 2022 Ukraine offensive has drawn comparisons with Soviet-era censorship and propaganda. bur/js
