Overview

• Four independent journalists—Antonina Favorskaya, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov, and Artyom Kriger—were sentenced to 5-1/2 years in prison by a Moscow court on April 15, 2025.
• The journalists were convicted of involvement with an organization linked to late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which authorities have labeled as extremist.
• The trial, conducted behind closed doors since October 2024, restricted public access and transparency in the judicial process.
• All four journalists denied the charges, asserting they were targeted for their work in independent journalism rather than any extremist activities.
• This sentencing is part of a broader, intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia, which has escalated since Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine beginning in 2022.