Sawt Falasteen - Russian court accuses veteran journalist of 'justifying terrorism'

Moscow has hugely stepped efforts to quash dissent as it fights in Ukraine and regularly accuses anyone deemed not to toe the official line of "justifying terrorism".

Prosecutors accuse Nadezhda Kevorkova, a respected 66-year old journalist who specialises in the Middle East, of "publicly justifying and calling for terrorism... with the aim of shaping public opinion".

The accusation is based on two social media posts, one from 2020 on the Taliban and a re-post from another journalist in 2018 about a 2005 Islamist raid on the Russian city of Nalchik.

Kevorkova, who was arrested in May, has written for Russia's top media outlets including Novaya Gazeta and has also written for pro-Kremlin media such as Russia Today.

At court on Monday, Kevorkova, who had her hair tied back in a bun and wore a black dress with white stripes, waved to a group of around 20 supporters, including fellow journalists, from behind the glass defendant's cage.

She told the judge she understood the charges against her, and is expected to testify at a hearing later this week.

Her lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov said a verdict could be delivered within days.

The Taliban is officially banned by Moscow, though Moscow has forged ties with the Islamist authorities that now govern Afghanistan.

Akhilgov said any mention of the group is "very sensitive" for security services, especially after the March 2024 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack.

"The Talibs, as you know, come to Russia, meet with high-ranked representatives of our country," Akhilgov told AFP.

"But formally the Taliban from 2003 is on a list of banned terrorist organisations... And formally, of course, any mention of the Taliban in a positive context suggests that this is a justification of terrorism."

The Kremlin has exerted a tight grip on Russian media under President Vladimir Putin's long rule, but its control of the press since launching the 2022 Ukraine offensive has drawn comparisons with Soviet-era censorship and propaganda.

Y.AlMasri--SF-PST