Four journalists linked to the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny were sentenced to spend five years and six months in a penal colony on Tuesday, after they were accused of working for a banned organization run by the Kremlin critic, Russian state media TASS has reported. <\/p>\n
The reporters \u2013 Antonina Favorskaya, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov and Artem Kriger \u2013 have been on trial behind closed doors since October on charges, which they deny, of belonging to an \u201cextremist\u201d group established by Navalny in 2011. <\/p>\n
Prosecutors claimed the four had produced material for the YouTube channel of Navalny\u2019s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), according to Reuters, which is prohibited under the country\u2019s \u201cforeign agents law.\u201d Amnesty International has warned that the \u201crepressive\u201d legislation is an \u201cattack on freedom of association\u201d in Russia, where Moscow has increasingly attempted to stifle journalists under censorship laws. <\/p>\n
In February, mourners gathered at Navalny\u2019s graveside in the Russian capital to mark the first anniversary of his death in prison. Dozens of people were detained at memorials, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other rights groups. <\/p>\n
Over his storied political career, Navalny generated some of the largest anti-government demonstrations in recent years, and unfurled corruption at Russia\u2019s highest seat of power, under the FBK. <\/p>\n
Navalny died suddenly at the age of 47 on February 16, 2024, while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges he denied. At the time, Russia\u2019s prison service claimed he \u201cfelt unwell after a walk.\u201d But Navalny\u2019s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and former US President Joe Biden have long held Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for his death. Moscow has rebuffed those allegations. <\/p>\n
Authorities in Russia have since tried to \u201cerase Navalny\u2019s political legacy\u201d through their \u201cextensive arsenal of repressive tools,\u201d according to HRW \u2013 which called the arrests on the first anniversary of his death \u201cjust the tip of the iceberg in the Kremlin\u2019s continued crackdown on his supporters.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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