Editor of Novaya Gazeta Europe sentenced in absentia to 6 years in prison
Chief editor of Novaya Gazeta Europe and co-founder of the Free University, Kirill Martynov, was Tuesday found guilty of organising what Russian authorities defines as an "undesirable organisation".
The ruling was announced in the Basmanny District Court of Moscow.
Martynov is a well-known journalist and editor, today living in Latvia from where the Novaya Gazeta Europe is published.
The court ruling also ban Martynov from administering websites for the next three years. The state prosecutor requested a 7-year prison sentence for him.
The criminal case involves two projects associated with the journalist: the publication Novaya Gazeta Europe and the educational initiative Free University created in Russia in 2020.
The criminal prosecution of Martynov became known in September this year.
"It's quite curious that I became the first editor convicted for the mere existence of an independent media. Even more interesting is that I have two "undesirable organisations", including the Free University, says Kirill Martynov to the Barents Observer after the verdict became known.
"Thus, the Russian Federation has declared my entire life a crime. I taught and worked in media — both turned out to be serious crimes: six years (of imprisonment) and a three-year ban on administering websites. In general, a digital detox," Martynov says.
Kirill Martynov considers the status of being convicted not only as a repressive measure but also as an opportunity to rethink the role of independent structures in the future. The journalist plans to appeal the verdict.
"I am, of course, interested in the future of undesirable organisations. I hope that since the Russian Federation is paying us such intense attention, it means that our work is useful to someone. I am thinking about how to use this ominous status of being convicted to help colleagues work, develop, and create projects," he says.
"I think the case will reach an international level, which remains after the dissolution of the ECHR — in the form of UN committees. I hope that the fate of journalism in Russia will thereby be highlighted once again — including through my example."
In June 2023, the General Prosecutor's Office of Russia recognised the activities of the publication Novaya Gazeta Europe as "undesirable".
The editorial office was created abroad by former employees of Novaya Gazeta after it suspended publication in Russia under increased censorship conditions.
Earlier, in March 2023, another initiative associated with Martynov received the status of an "undesirable organisation" — the independent educational project Free University.
It was founded by lecturers who left Russian universities under political pressure. The platform continued its educational activities online, collaborating with international academic communities. As of today, Russian authorities have included 220 organisations in the list of "undesirable".
Almost anyone can fall under this status — from human rights and political structures to NGOs, religious associations and independent media. In February this year, the Barents Observer became the first Nordic media to be put on the list.
