A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced independent journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev to 17.5 years in prison on charges of participating in and financing a terrorist organization, Mediazona reported Tuesday. The former editor of Chernovik, a leading independent news outlet in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, was arrested in June 2019 and has since remained in pre-trial detention. Russian authorities accused Gadzhiev of helping to raise funds for the militant Islamic group ISIS on the orders of the Islamic preacher Abu Umar Sasitlinsky and disguising his activities as charitable work. Prosecutors also claimed that the journalist's reporting contained evidence of his involvement in terrorist activities. However, independent experts were unable to find any traces of criminal activity in Gadzhiev's work.
The arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich last month brought to light the stark reality of media freedom in Russia, which is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most perilous places for journalists. As many as 22 journalists are currently imprisoned in Russia for their work, according to data from international press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the highest figure since the group began collecting data. And the number of jailed journalists is likely to increase as Russia tightens draconian wartime censorship laws.
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