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A Russian journalist on Monday was convicted on prices of condoning terrorism and ordered to pay a fantastic in a case that has been extensively criticized as an assault on freedom of speech.
The court docket within the metropolis of Pskov has discovered Svetlana Prokopyeva guilty of “justifying terrorism” and ordered her to pay a fantastic of 500,000 rubles (about $6,950). Prosecutors had requested for a six-year jail sentence for Prokopyeva.
The case of Prokopyeva stems from a commentary she printed within the wake of a November 2018 suicide assault, wherein a 17-year-old Russian man blew himself up on the entrance of the workplace of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, within the northern metropolis of Arkhangelsk.
The attacker was killed and three FSB officers have been injured.
In her commentary, Prokopyeva criticized repressive authorities insurance policies, arguing that they go away little probability for the younger folks to precise their discontent and drive them to despair.
Prokopyeva, a contract contributor to RFE/RL’s Russian Service, has maintained her innocence, rejecting the costs as an assault on freedom of speech.
“I am not afraid to criticize law enforcement or tell the security organs that they are wrong,” Prokopyeva mentioned in her closing assertion Friday. “Because I know how really horrific it will become if I don’t speak out — if no one speaks out.” She insisted that she solely did her work as a journalist.
“I did not do anything that was beyond the framework of my professional duty,” Prokopyeva advised the court docket “And that is not a crime.” Prokopyeva mentioned she would attraction the decision.
Human rights teams and media watchdogs in Russia and overseas have criticized the costs in opposition to Prokopyeva as an try and trample on freedom of speech and demanded her acquittal. (AP) AMS AMS
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