A Russian journalist was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison for having worked with the organization of the deceased opponent Alexei Navalny and having criticized the army, a new example of the repression in progress in Russia.
Olga Komleva, 46, was a volunteer for the Alexei Navalny movement before it was prohibited for “extremism” by Russian justice in 2021, according to the independent media Mediazona.
AFP
He is also criticized for having criticized the Russian army as it covered the offensive in Ukraine for the independent media Rusnews.
A court of Ufa, in the Urals, found him guilty of having “participated in the activities of an extremist community” and “deliberately disseminated false information on the actions of the armed forces,” said the Court on Telegram.
Sentenced to 12 years in prison, the journalist rejects the accusations brought against him.
AFP
Olga Komleva appeared to be smiling and greeting with the hand in the glass cage reserved for the accused after hearing the verdict and launched “I love you all” to a group of people who came to support her, according to a video broadcast by Rusnews.
According to Mediazona, Mme Komleva is diabetic and has encountered difficulties in obtaining his medication during his pre -trial detention.
Alexei Navalny was the main opponent of President Vladimir Putin until his death in troubled conditions in an Arctic prison in February 2024.
Its movement has been the subject of a merciless repression of the authorities for many years, which has pushed most of its supporters to exile abroad.
The independent media are also the subject of a repression in Russia and most of their journalists have left the country. Others have been sentenced to heavy prison sentences for various reasons.
According to the specialized OVD-Info NGO, itself in the sights of the authorities, more than 1,500 people in Russia are in prison for political reasons.