LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the arrest of at least eight journalists and media workers by Russian authorities on fraud and extortion charges.
鈥淩ussian authorities should immediately release journalists and media workers recently arrested and ensure that the country鈥檚 judicial system is not used to silence critical voices,鈥� the CPJ said in a statement on Tuesday.
Russian forces raided homes and carried out eight arrests between Aug. 1-16, according to sources.
Media outlets in the country confirmed that as of Tuesday at least seven journalists and Telegram media employees remained in custody.
Among them are Vladislav Malushenko, Yevgeny Moskvin and Aleksei Slobodenyuk, who run the Telegram channel Scanner.
According to Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo, the channel 鈥渋s used to discredit those who disagree with the government鈥� and has about 178,000 subscribers.
The three are accused of extorting money from Rostec, the state-owned defense conglomerate, in exchange for not publishing damaging information about the firm. Under Russian law, they face up to six years in jail if found guilty.
As part of efforts to control media coverage in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, news websites and social media have been subject to significant harassment by Moscow since the war began.
As a result, several independent media outlets in the country have shifted or stopped their operations entirely, and often rely on Telegram to share information, specifically news related to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Due to its lack of moderation and clear user guidelines, Telegram has also been used by pro-Russian operators to spread misinformation.
鈥淭he press freedom situation in Russia has only become more alarming since the country鈥檚 full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February,鈥� said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ鈥檚 program director, in New York.
鈥淩ussian authorities are increasingly charging journalists with financial crimes in apparent retaliation for their investigation into business and political issues.
鈥淭he Russian judicial system must not be used to silence critical voices, and authorities must immediately release all the journalists and media workers who remain in custody and drop all charges against them,鈥� he added.