Russia arrests journalists again

Russia arrested other journalists. According to the Associated Press news agency, Sergei Karelin, who holds dual Russian and Israeli citizenship, was arrested on Friday. Konstantin Gabov was arrested on Thursday. Karlin has worked for the Associated Press, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Gabov, among others, for Reuters and the Russian channels Moscow 24 and Mir.

They are accused of “extremism” and are linked to YouTube videos on the channel of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in February. That channel is run by Navalny's associates.

Navalny's supporters and associates may face prosecution because Russian authorities have determined that his anti-corruption movement is an extremist organization. The two journalists could face at least two years in prison if convicted of participating in an extremist organization.

It was announced earlier that Sergei Mingazov, who works for Forbes Russia magazine, was arrested on Friday and placed under house arrest. He is accused of criticizing the Russian army's attack on the Ukrainian city of Bucha. In Russia, a law came into effect in 2022 prohibiting the spread of “fake news” about the army.

In March, photographer Antonina Favorskaya was arrested on charges of participating in an extremist organization for allegedly posting messages on social media channels of Navalny's movement.

In October, Russian-American journalist Alsou Kurmasheva was arrested for not registering as a foreign agent. Russia classifies individuals and organizations that it believes receive funding from abroad and engage in political activities against Russian rulers as foreign agents.

Evan Gershkovitch, of the Wall Street Journal, has been in prison for more than a year on espionage charges. On Tuesday, a Moscow court rejected his appeal against extending his pretrial detention.