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full screen Russian journalist Sergei Karelin in the courtroom in the Murmansk region in northern Russia. Photo: AP/TT
Two Russian journalists have been arrested in Russia on suspicion of “extremism”.
They are accused of working for a group funded by the recently deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Konstantin Gabov is a freelance producer and has worked, among other things, for the Reuters news agency, according to the court. He was arrested in the Russian capital, Moscow.
Sergej Karelin has both Israeli and Russian citizenship and was arrested in the Murmansk region in northern Russia. He is a video journalist and has worked for the German Deutsche Welle and the news agency AP, among other things.
“The Associated Press (AP) is deeply concerned about the detention of Russian video journalist Sergei Karelin,” the news agency said in a statement.
Gabov and Karelin are accused of having prepared material for a YouTube channel run by Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation.
Alexei Navalny died under unclear circumstances in an Arctic penal colony in February.
Both journalists risk between two and six years in prison for “participation in an extremist organization”. They deny the accusations leveled against them.
The already limited media freedom in Russia was tightened even more when new, harsh laws were introduced after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Gabov and Karelin are two in a series of journalists who have been arrested since then.