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Novaya Gazeta Europe
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
Former political prisoner denied German humanitarian visa amid wider freeze affecting anti-war Russians — Novaya Gazeta Europe
Alexey Moskalyov with his daughter Maria on his release from prison on 15 October 2024. Photo: SOTAvision A prominent former Russian political prisoner and his daughter have been denied a humanitarian visa to Germany, amid a wider freeze on humanitarian visa applications currently impacting hundreds of other anti-war Russians, independent Russian radio station Ekho FM reported on Thursday, citing several individuals and organisations who have been denied entry to the country. According to Ekho FM, the German government has not granted humanitarian visas to Alexey Moskalyov and his teenage daughter, Masha Moskalyova, for over six months, despite him formerly serving a one-year prison sentence in Russia for anti-war social media posts, a case that gained international prominence in 2023 when several major Russian human rights organisations petitioned European authorities to come to his aid. Moskalyov was first investigated by Russian authorities in April 2022 after his daughter drew an anti-war picture during an art class at school. Subsequently, several of Moskalyov's social media posts in which he had condemned the war in Ukraine came to light. He was charged with 'discrediting the army' in December 2022 and was initially placed under house arrest, pending trial. In March 2023, Moskalyov fled house arrest and was detained in Belarus while attempting to leave Russia. He was extradited to Russia and imprisoned there for two years, before being released in October 2024. According to Ekho FM, he and his daughter are currently outside of Russia, continuing to seek asylum in Germany. On 23 July, the German Interior Ministry suspended its humanitarian visa admission programme, an initiative that had previously helped individuals at risk of persecution due to human rights activism in authoritarian states, such as Belarus, Russia, and Iran, to receive entry to the country. Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the programme had helped over 2,600 anti-war Russian activists, politicians, organisations, and journalists safely relocate to Germany, according to The Ark, an initiative helping anti-war Russians in emigration. 'Germany was a leader in protecting those who resist Putin's regime. Now that such individuals are no longer having their cases accepted, it feels like people are being left alone in the face of repression,' one coordinator for the InTransit human rights initiative told EkhoFM anonymously. According to Ekho FM, in addition to the Moskalyovs, some 300 other anti-war Russians were awaiting the issuing of humanitarian visas prior to the programme's cancellation, including many under active threat of criminal prosecution. Human rights activists and lawyers are now preparing an appeal to the German Interior Ministry to preserve the visa programme, Ekho FM reported. The German government has not yet commented publicly on the case of Moskalyov and his daughter, nor on the denial of humanitarian visas to anti-war Russian dissidents.
Russia Today
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Journalists linked to Navalny jailed
A Moscow court has sentenced four Russian journalists from Reuters, the Associated Press, and SOTAvision to five and a half years in prison each on extremism charges. They were found guilty of working for an extremist group founded by the late Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny. Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Konstantin Gabov, and Sergey Karelin were detained last year on charges of collecting materials and producing and editing videos for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), and the NavalnyLIVE YouTube channel. The organizations are considered 'extremist' and banned in Russia. Moscow's Nagatinsky District Court found the journalists guilty of 'participating in an extremist group.' The court also imposed a three-year ban on journalists from managing or operating websites. The court held the trial behind closed doors, but allowed observers to attend the sentencing on Tuesday. Among those present at the hearing were representatives from the embassies of Australia, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the US, the Netherlands, and the EU Delegation in Russia. READ MORE: Navalny's former lawyers sentenced to prison in Russia According to prosecutors, Favorskaya, 35, was collecting materials, producing and editing videos and publications for the FBK – charges she has denied, calling them 'absurd.' Kriger, 24, was convicted on similar charges. SOTAvision, the employer of Favorskaya and Kriger, has consistently rejected the accusations, stating that neither journalist has ever worked for Navalny's organizations. Gabov, 38, reportedly worked as a freelance journalist for Reuters, as well as the Russian TV channels Moskva 24 and MIR, and the Belarusian news agency Belsat. Karelin, 42, contributed to the Associated Press. Earlier this year, three of Navalny's former lawyers were found guilty of helping the opposition figure lead an extremist group from prison and were sentenced to three and a half to five and a half years behind bars. Navalny was serving a 19-year prison sentence on multiple extremism-related charges when he died in prison in February 2024.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France urges release of jailed Russian journalists who covered Navalny
France on Wednesday urged Russia to immediately release four journalists sentenced to long prison terms for their association with the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Navalny -- Putin's main opponent -- was declared an "extremist" by Russian authorities, a ruling that remains in force despite his death in an Arctic penal colony on February 16, 2024. Moscow also banned Navalny's organisations as "extremist" shortly before launching its 2022 Ukraine offensive and has ruthlessly targeted those it deems to have links to him. "France condemns the five-and-a-half-year prison sentences handed down yesterday," French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said. A judge sentenced the reporters -- Antonina Kravtsova, Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin, and Artem Kriger -- who all covered Navalny to "five years and six months in a general-regime penal colony", an AFP journalist heard. "The 'trial of the journalists' is a new demonstration by the Russian authorities to repress any dissenting opinion and intimidate those who attempt to document the human rights violations for which the Russian government is responsible," he said. "France is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those prosecuted for political reasons and for Russia to respect its international commitments regarding the right to information and access to information," Lemoine added. Kravtsova, 35, is a journalist who worked for the independent SOTAvision outlet. Gabov, 38, collaborated with Reuters and other foreign outlets, while 42-year-old Karelin, who is also an Israeli citizen, with the Associated Press and Deutsche Welle. Kriger, 24, the youngest among the accused, covered political trials and protests for SOTAvision. as/ah/jm
Arab News
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
France urges release of jailed Russian journalists who covered Navalny
PARIS: France on Wednesday urged Russia to immediately release four journalists sentenced to long prison terms for their association with the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Navalny – Putin's main opponent – was declared an 'extremist' by Russian authorities, a ruling that remains in force despite his death in an Arctic penal colony on February 16, 2024. Moscow also banned Navalny's organizations as 'extremist' shortly before launching its 2022 Ukraine offensive and has ruthlessly targeted those it deems to have links to him. 'France condemns the five-and-a-half-year prison sentences handed down yesterday,' French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said. A judge sentenced the reporters – Antonina Kravtsova, Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin, and Artem Kriger – who all covered Navalny to 'five years and six months in a general-regime penal colony,' an AFP journalist heard. 'The 'trial of the journalists' is a new demonstration by the Russian authorities to repress any dissenting opinion and intimidate those who attempt to document the human rights violations for which the Russian government is responsible,' he said. 'France is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those prosecuted for political reasons and for Russia to respect its international commitments regarding the right to information and access to information,' Lemoine added. Kravtsova, 35, is a journalist who worked for the independent SOTAvision outlet. Gabov, 38, collaborated with Reuters and other foreign outlets, while 42-year-old Karelin, who is also an Israeli citizen, with the Associated Press and Deutsche Welle. Kriger, 24, the youngest among the accused, covered political trials and protests for SOTAvision.
Japan Times
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Russian journalists jailed for 5-1/2 years for alleged extremist ties to Navalny
Four Russian journalists were sentenced by a Moscow court to 5-1/2 years each in prison on Tuesday after being found guilty of working for the banned organization of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Antonina Favorskaya, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov and Artem Kriger have been on trial behind closed doors since October on charges, which they deny, of belonging to an extremist group. Prosecutors said they created materials for the YouTube channel of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which is banned in Russia as a "foreign agent" and an extremist organization. Russia has intensified pressure on domestic and foreign reporters since the start of its war in Ukraine. Supporters of the accused journalists said the trial was aimed at intimidating the press and punishing reporters for doing their jobs. Navalny, the most prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin, had spent years denouncing corruption in the Russian elite. He died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony last year while serving a long sentence on corruption and extremism charges, which he denied. Despite claims by Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's wife, that he was murdered, Russia's investigative committee in 2024 told her it had concluded that Navalny's death was caused by a "combination of diseases." The Kremlin also has strongly rejected his supporters' accusation that Putin had him murdered. U.S. intelligence agencies later determined Putin likely did not order his death, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press reported. Before the sentences were read out, media were allowed briefly to film the accused journalists as they stood in handcuffs behind a glass screen. "Everything will be fine. I see how the dynamics are developing. I give this regime another year, another year and a half at most," Kriger said. Karelin said: "I hope my daughter will be proud of me." Neither the court nor prosecutors responded to requests for comment. Karelin and Gabov are freelancers who have worked for a variety of news organizations including, respectively, the AP and Reuters. Favorskaya and Kriger both work for SOTAvision, an independent outlet that has also been designated a foreign agent. Favorskaya recorded the last video of Navalny taking part in a court hearing the day before he died. "Konstantin Gabov is a freelance journalist who between 2022 and 2024 occasionally contributed to Reuters as a desk producer, editing video and scripting stories assigned to him. We have no evidence that shows the charges against him relate to his freelance work at Reuters," a spokesperson for the Reuters news agency said. "Reuters is deeply committed to freedom of the press and opposes the imprisonment of any journalist for doing their job. Journalists must be free to report the news in the public interest without fear of harassment or harm, wherever they are." The Associated Press did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Alexandra Ageeva, the founder of SOTAvision, who is listed by Russia as a foreign agent, said the sentences were expected. "Huge prison terms were handed down to journalists who were simply doing their jobs. It is terrible,' Ageeva said.
