Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin: Two Russian journalists arrested on “extremism” charges and accused of working with Navalny’s group

CNN
—

A pair of Russian Journalists have been arrested on “extremism” charges and face charges of working with a group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Konstantin Gabov and Sergei Karelin are accused of producing content for Navalny's popular YouTube channel, “NavalnyLIVE,” which publishes videos investigating corruption in the Kremlin that have garnered millions of views.

The Russian authorities included Navalny on the sanctions list He died in an Arctic prison in FebruaryHe described his organizations as “extremist.” Members of his team have been previously imprisoned and many live in exile.

The press service of the Basmanny District Court in Moscow said that Gabov was involved in “preparing photo and video materials” for the YouTube channel. He was arrested on Saturday and will remain in custody until June 27.

The court said that Gabov works as a producer for the Reuters news agency, which has continued to work in Russia since Moscow launched its work Invasion of Ukraine In February 2022. CNN asked Reuters for comment.

Karlin was arrested in the Murmansk region of northwestern Russia on Saturday and accused of “participating in an extremist organization.” He previously worked for a number of media outlets including the Associated Press (AP) and German publication Deutsche Welle (DW), until DW was banned in Russia in 2022.

An AP photo showed Karelin, who has dual Russian and Israeli citizenship, sitting in a glass cage in a Murmansk court on Saturday.

Monday's arrest comes amid an escalating crackdown in Russia against journalists and Kremlin critics, as President Vladimir Putin has sought to stifle dissent more aggressively than before the invasion of Ukraine.

Forbes journalist Sergey Mingazov Putin was also placed under house arrest on Saturday after being arrested on charges of spreading false news about the Russian military, the official RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Navalny was Putin's strongest political opponent before his death in a penal colony, where he was serving a prison sentence of more than 30 years on extremism charges. Navalny's family and supporters accused Putin of responsibility for his death, which the Kremlin rejected.