Russian journalist arrested for reporting on Navalny Biden receives campaign help from Obama and Clinton

After years of reporting on the now deceased Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, a journalist has been arrested in Russia. Moscow’s Basmanny court justified Antonina Favorskaya’s pre-trial detention on Friday by saying she was involved with Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which Russia long ago banned as an “extremist organization.”

However, both her media outlet ‘SotaVision’ and Navalny’s team reject this as an excuse to silence the critical journalist. She faces a prison sentence of up to six years.

Contrary to what is alleged in the indictment, Favorskaya never published material for the Navalny fund FBK, Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter). “A journalist is being accused because of her journalistic activities,” she added. “It’s no surprise, but what darkness.” Since the war of aggression against Ukraine began more than two years ago, Russia has become increasingly repressive against critical voices at home.

According to her media, Favorskaya reported on almost all the trials that continued against Navalny even after his imprisonment in early 2021. After his death on February 16, she also visited the opposition politician’s grave several times in Moscow and documented how people gathered in large numbers for days after the funeral numbers kept coming and leaving flowers.

After one of these visits to the cemetery, she was arrested by police officers in a café on March 17 and initially jailed for ten days for allegedly resisting police officers. On the day of her scheduled release, Favorskaya was arrested again – this time on charges of involvement in the Navalny organization.

Several of the journalist’s colleagues and a representative of another media outlet critical of the Kremlin were also arrested. He later reported that he had been beaten by security officers and threatened with sexual violence, civil rights organization OVD-Info reported. (sda/dpa)