Russian prosecutors have requested a six-year prison sentence for four journalists accused of working with the anti-corruption group founded by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Sergey Karelin, and Konstantin Gabov were arrested last year and charged with links to an extremist group, which they deny.
During a closed court session in Moscow on April 10, prosecutors asked for each journalist to be sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison. The trial is part of a broader crackdown by Russian authorities on dissent, which has escalated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Opposition figures, independent journalists, activists, and Kremlin critics have become primary targets in Russia, with hundreds imprisoned and thousands fleeing the country to avoid arrest.
The four journalists are accused of collaborating with Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was declared an extremist group and banned in 2021—an action many believe was politically motivated. Navalny, a major rival to Russian President Vladimir Putin, led anti-corruption campaigns within government ranks. He died in February 2024 in a Siberian prison while serving a 19-year sentence that he claimed was politically motivated.
Favorskaya and Kriger worked with an independent Russian media house that covers protests and political trials, while Gabov served as a producer for several organizations, including Reuters. Karelin, an independent video journalist, worked for Western media outlets like the Associated Press.
