France has urged Russia to immediately release four journalists sentenced to long prison terms for their association with the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Antonina Favorskaya, Kostantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin and Artyom Kriger were found guilty of involvement with a group that had been labelled as extremist.
All four had maintained their innocence, arguing they were being prosecuted for doing their jobs as journalists.
Tuesday's closed-door trial at Moscow's Nagatinsky district court was part of an unrelenting crackdown on dissent that has reached an unprecedented scale after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
"France condemns the five-and-a-half-year prison sentences handed down yesterday," French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said on Wednesday.
"France is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those prosecuted for political reasons and for Russia to respect its international commitments regarding the right to information and access to information," Lemoine added.
Decision 'mocks justice'
The authorities have targeted opposition figures, independent journalists, rights activists and ordinary Russians critical of the Kremlin with prosecution, jailing hundreds and prompting thousands to flee the country.
Favorskaya and Kriger worked with SotaVision, an independent Russian news outlet that covers protests and political trials. Gabov is a freelance producer who has worked for multiple organisations, including Reuters. Karelin, a freelance video journalist, has done work for Western media outlets, including AP.
The four journalists were accused of working with Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which was designated as extremist and outlawed in 2021 in a move widely seen as politically motivated.
Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said that the trial "mocks justice".
Navalny was President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest and most prominent foe and relentlessly campaigned against official corruption in Russia.
Navalny died in February 2024 in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on a number of charges, including running an extremist group, which he had rejected as politically driven.
