Russia: CFWIJ condemns the raid of DOXA student journalists’ homes

April 15, 2021, Moscow - Russian authorities raided the homes of four student journalists, two of whom are young women, as well as the homes of their parents. 

The students were targeted for demanding their civil right to protest and have since been detained on criminal charges.

On April 14, the police raided the office of an online student magazine, DOXA, as well as the homes of four of its staff members. The targeted students - DOXA editor-in-chief, Armen Aramyan, and journalists Alla Gutnikova, Vladimir Metelkin, and Natalia Tyshkevich - have since been detained for the charge of “involvement of minors in the commission of acts that pose a danger to the minor’s life”. If convicted, the students face three years in prison. Ahead of judicial proceedings, the prosecution has requested the court to place the students under house arrest and prohibit them from communicating with anyone other than immediate family and legal counsel.

According to their lawyer, the journalists became state targets after a video message was circulated by DOXA staff members on January 23, 2021. In the video, the students demanded that authorities stop intimidating their colleagues who want to join the demonstrations against the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. They also encouraged young people to fight for their right to peaceful protests and join human rights organizations as active members of civil politics.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled by the actions of the Russian state and condemns their unjustified actions. To prosecute minors over a video message demanding basic civil liberties is harsh and repressive. Young journalists are crucial to the media landscape and foster a freely informed society. We demand the students be acquitted and the Russian authorities issue an apology for their transgression.