Russia sentences four journalists to 5.5 years in prison for ties to Navalny's organization

Russia on Tuesday sentenced four journalists to five and a half years in prison for alleged cooperation with the Fund for Fighting Corruption (FBK), an organization founded by the late Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

Journalists Antonina Kravtsova, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov, and Artyom Krieger were found "guilty" and "sentenced" to "five years and six months" in prison, as announced by Judge Natalia Borissenkova in front of the media and the defendants.

The journalists were sent to prison for participating in an "extremist community," a reference to the outlawed FBK, during a hearing at the Nagatino District Court in Moscow.

All of them rejected the accusations made by the Russian judiciary in court.

The four journalists were tried behind closed doors

Kravtsova, who worked under the name Antonina Favorskaia, regularly covered Navalny's trials for SOTAvision. On February 15, 2024, she recorded the last video of him alive during a hearing, the day before his death, when he appeared via video call from his Arctic prison.

Reporters Sergey Karelin and Konstantin Gabov were accused of participating in the creation of videos for Navalny's team. Karelin had previously worked with Reuters, while Gabov had worked with The Associated Press.

Artiom Krieger, a journalist for SOTAvision, was also accused of collaborating with the opposition leader's anti-corruption organization.

The movement of Navalny, the main opponent of President Vladimir Putin until his death in detention in February 2024, has been systematically dismantled in recent years, with its allies and supporters either forced into exile or imprisoned.

The death of Navalni

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in the prison to which he was sent in the Arctic Circle in February 2024.

Considered the most prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin in the last decade, Navalny was serving a 19-year prison sentence for various crimes, most of which were widely believed to be politically motivated.

At the end of 2023, Navalny was transferred to an Arctic penal colony, one of the harshest prisons in Russia, located in the city of Jarp.

The authorities attributed the death of the opposition leader to natural causes, citing a sudden rise in blood pressure and chronic diseases. However, his family and allies reject this explanation, insisting that he was killed on the Kremlin's orders, a claim denied by Russian officials.