A district court in UFA, city of the center of Russia, condemned the journalist Olga Komleva to 12 years in prison for his past collaboration with the late opposition activist Alexéi Navalny and for his coverage on the Russian army during the offensive in Ukraine, an official judicial source reported on Tuesday reported by the agency French AFP.
Komleva, 46, was declared guilty of participating in activities considered extremists and spreading false information about the Russian armed forces.
The sentence occurs in the context of an increasingly hard policy in Russia against any association with Navalny, declared “extremist” since 2021, and against dissent in general.
Komleva, who was voluntary of the Navalny party before his illegalization, defends his innocence.
She was also accused of publishing criticism about Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine and about anti -government protests through the independent environment Rusnews.
His health, fragile for suffering diabetes, has deteriorated during his arrest waiting for the trial, with difficulties in getting his medications, the portal revealed Mediazone.
Despite the conviction, Komleva was seen smiling and greeting his supporters when he heard the judicial ruling, with words of affection for them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG7WE5V6MQ4
Navalny, a nemesis for Kremlin
Alexéi Navalny, born in 1976, was the most prominent leader of the Russian opposition and the main voice against Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin.
Graduated in Law and Economics, Navalny became known as 2008 for his anti -corruption research, which he presented in blogs and through its anti -corruption foundation.
His activism led to the organization of extensive protests in Russia and direct confrontations with power. After surviving an alleged poisoning with a nervous agent in 2020, Navalny was imprisoned under positions that his international supporters and observers describe as politically motivated.
In February 2024, he died suddenly in prison in circumstances that continue to generate controversy and accusations against the Russian government.
The authorities delivered the Navalny body to his mother more than a week after his death in prison, “for natural causes”, after a prolonged negative and public pressure to do so.
During his imprisonment and before his death, the image of Navalny remained a symbol of resistance for broad sectors in Russia and abroad. Its foundation and other associated groups were declared extremist and legally disjointed organizations, while their followers have faced continuous persecution.
Internet control
In addition to the Komleva case, the Russian government has hardened its control over the Internet in recent months with the approval of new laws that criminalize the search and access to cataloged content of “extremists.”
A law recently approved by the upper house of Parliament provides fines for those who deliberately seek information about prohibited groups such as the Navalny Anti -Corruption Foundation or international LGBT movements.
The authorities justify the norm as a measure to protect society, but activists and observers criticize it for restricting freedom of expression and information circulation.
The use of virtual private networks (VPN), which many Russians use to access blocked content, is also under increasing surveillance and restrictions.
The authorities have intensified the use of technology to monitor and block VPN protocols, in addition to closing independent media and harassing cyber journalists and activists, within the framework of a strong post -invasion censorship of Ukraine in 2022.
