Russia: CFWIJ condemns the persistent legal harassment against Daria Komarova

April 9, 2021- Daria Komarova, a freelance journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) regional news outlet, Idel.Realii, was detained by police on January 23 for covering protests in support of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. Daria faces three separate trials for her coverage of the pro-Navalny protests. On April 7, the Leninsky district court held the first arraignment against the journalist for her alleged participation in an opposition rally on August 29, 2020, though the judge postponed the hearing until April 16. CFWIJ demands Russian judicial authorities drop the baseless charges against Daria. As a journalist, she performed her duty while covering the protests, and this should not be considered an act against the state. 

In a recent interview, Daria told CPJ that police first informed her on March 11 that she would face charges for participating in illegitimate protests on August 29, 2020, and January 23, 2020. Daria stated, on March 18, police authorities informed her about another separate charge against her for her attendance at a protest held on January 31. The judge also asked the Russian state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, to evaluate whether, under the law, Daria should be considered a journalist or a foreign agent. In Russia, the Ministry of Justice has identified RFE/RL and its regional news outlets as “foreign agents”, keeping their activities under high surveillance and scrutiny. 

The news outlet affiliated with RFE/RL maintains that Daria was present at rallies and protests strictly in a journalistic capacity. If she is convicted by the court, she could face 20 days of detention for each of the charges and a fine reaching up to $651. Daria appeared in court on April 13 to defend her coverage of the pro-Navalny protest held on January 23. CFWIJ documented at least 50 incidents of impediments against journalists from 17 major cities in January 2021. Several journalists were detained and assaulted, including Elizaveta Kirpanova, Daria Belikova, and Aleksandra Godfroid.

Daria was fined 10,000 rubles (137$) on August 2, 2021, after a court in the Cheboksary region convicted her. She was found guilty of participating in an unsanctioned gathering, though Daria insisted she was covering the event strictly as a journalist. Jamie Fly, president of RFE/RL,  called this conviction “systemic harassment” against journalists by Russian authorities. He emphasized that Daria was doing her job when she reported the event almost a year ago. “This systemic harassment of brave journalists like Daria across Russia only serves to deprive the Russian people of independent information about their country and political options,” Fly added. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the persistent legal harassment targeting Daria. Judicial authorities should not punish journalists for doing their job and covering newsworthy events. We demand the Russian judiciary drop the fabricated charges against Daria and the other women journalists who report pro-opposition demonstrations.