In a closed-door trial Tuesday, a Russian court sentenced a journalist to four years in prison for her work with foreign media outlets.
Nika Novak was arrested in December 2023 on accusations of “preparing inaccurate materials” to discredit the Russian armed forces.
The FSB security service said that Novak’s work was “aimed at causing reputational damage” to Russia and an attempt to destabilize the country and its war in Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency.
The court, which is in the Siberian region of Zabaykalsky Krai, did not say which foreign media outlet Novak is accused of working for.
Novak worked previously for the Russian news websites Chita and Zab.ru, and had been a freelance reporter at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty or RFE/RL.
A sister network to VOA, RFE/RL is an independent U.S.-funded media outlet. Moscow designates RFE/RL a so-called foreign agent.
RFE/RL President Stephen Capus on Tuesday condemned the sentence handed to Novak.
“These politically motivated charges are intended to silence individual reporters and cause a chilling effect. We call for Nika’s immediate release to her family,” Capus said in a statement shared with VOA.
Russia has ramped up its arrests and harassment of independent journalists since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Shortly after, the government issued directives on how media could report the war, and legislators enacted a law to penalize anyone authorities deemed to be spreading false news or information that could discredit the military.
Russian authorities have also issued several arrest warrants in absentia. In October, authorities ordered the arrest in absentia of a CNN correspondent who had reported from Russia’s Kursk region as Ukraine forces made advances.
The Memorial human rights group described Novak as a “political prisoner.” It added that the journalist appeared to “hold anti-Ukrainian views,” based on social media posts, but had criticized local authorities for supporting the offensive, according to AFP.
The Coalition for Women in Journalism has also condemned Novak’s detention. In a statement at the time of her arrest, the group said, “The Kremlin is continuously abusing legislation to target journalists and activists. This must stop.”
“The serious charges and lengthy prison term facing Novak are deeply worrying,” the statement said, adding that the coalition called on Russia to drop the charges and release the journalist.
This report contains information from Agence France-Presse.
