Moscow courts announced today, Saturday, that a Russian journalist who cooperates with several media outlets has been placed in pretrial detention on charges of “extremism” for his participation in creating videos for the YouTube channel of the late opposition team Alexei Navalny.
• Read also: Ukraine: Two people were injured in a “huge” Russian attack.
The court's press service said on Telegram that Konstantin Gabov remained in detention until at least June 27 awaiting trial.
Mr. Gabov cooperated with various media companies, including the Russian TV channels Moskva 24 and MIR and the Belarusian BelSat agency, according to Russian media.
The Russian judiciary accuses him of “participating in the preparation of photos and video clips that were to be published on the NavalnyLIVE YouTube channel,” the courts said, referring to one of the platforms used by rival Alexei Navalny’s team.
Alexei Navalny, an enemy of Vladimir Putin, died in February under mysterious circumstances in an Arctic prison. The courts have classified his movement as “extremist,” putting his collaborators and supporters at risk of prosecution.
Most of the deceased opponent's comrades are in exile abroad, while others have received long prison sentences.
At the end of March, photojournalist Antonina Kravtsova, who worked under the name Antonina Favorskaya, was also arrested on charges of “extremism.”
She regularly covered the trials of Alexei Navalny for SOTAvision, one of the last media outlets documenting political repression from Russia and who is classified as a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.
There are several other journalists under arrest in Russia, including American Ivan Gershkovich, who is being targeted by “espionage” charges, which he rejects, as well as the media, his relatives, and the American authorities.
Russian-American journalist Alsou Kurmasheva, who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), has also been detained since October 2023 for not registering as a “foreign agent” as requested by authorities.
