Censorship in Russia: journalists arrested for filming protests in support of Navalny

The death of Alexei Navalny, the greatest opponent of Vladimir Putin during the last decade, was announced on Friday morning. The 47-year-old politician was serving a sentence in a prison in the Arctic Circle, considered one of the harshest prisons in the country. His death led to numerous protests in Russia, which the authorities sought to repress by various means, including arresting journalists along the way.

As reported by Sky News, citizens came out to protest in the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg over the death of the political leader, which, of course, caught the attention of the local press.

One of the interested journalists was Yulia Petrova, who was arrested by authorities. Her arrest was filmed by those present and soon went viral on social media.

The video in question clearly shows how Petrova was filming the situation when the local authorities, dressed entirely in black, took her by the arm and escorted her to a van.

Regarding Navalny’s death, Joe Biden and various countries in the European Union blamed Putin, alleging that the Russian president is “sole[ly] responsible” for the tragic events.

Navalny's last sentence

The political leader had been sentenced at the beginning of August to 19 years in prison. His alleged crimes were inciting and financing extremism, creating an illegal NGO, rehabilitating Nazism and inciting children to carry out dangerous acts.

This new sentence was handed down behind closed doors at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, about 145 miles (235 kilometers) from Moscow. As reported by The Guardian, Navalny appeared thin, aged and with a defiant attitude to listen to Judge Andrey Suvorov’s verdict. “For a new, free, rich country to be born, it must have parents. Those who want it, who expect it, and who are willing to make sacrifices for its birth,” Navalny stated at the beginning of the trial.

Navalny was the most vocal dissident Putin has had in recent years. The lawyer and activist was 47 years old at his death, but he suffered an assassination attempt in 2020 when he was poisoned with Novichok. Months after coming out of a coma, he returned to Russia and was detained by the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) as soon as he set foot in the airport. The event triggered a wave of protests that spread throughout the country. He was sentenced in 2021 to 11 years in prison and labeled a “terrorist” and “extremist.”