Two female journalists in Russia were sentenced to 4 years in prison on serious charges

Catherine Norris Trent (Left) & Nika Novak 

Moscow : A Russian court sentenced two female journalists to four years in prison after finding them guilty of collaborating with a foreign organization. 24-year-old Nika Novak has been found guilty of collaborating with a representative of a foreign media organization.

It is alleged that Nika Novak and France24's senior correspondent Catherine Norris Trent reported from the place where Ukrainian troops crossed the border and made a part of Russian territory in early August. The allegations state that with the help of Nika Novak, false content was prepared to defame the Russian armed forces and government agencies for economic gain.

The court said that the actions of Nika Novak and Catherine Norris Trent were aimed at damaging Russia's reputation and destabilizing the country. According to reports, one of the two journalists, Nika, has been arrested and sent to jail, while arrest orders have been issued for Catherine Norris.

#Russia: Women Press Freedom condemns the unjust conviction of journalist #NikaNovak, sentenced to 4 years in a penal colony under the vague charge of “collaborating with a foreign organization.”

Since her secretive detention in December 2023, we have consistently demanded her… pic.twitter.com/jULxWpcZ9F

— #WomenInJournalism (@CFWIJ) November 27, 2024

Russia is considered the fourth worst country in the world in terms of journalists. Russia has filed criminal cases against several Western journalists reporting from Kursk. Around 18 journalists are currently behind bars for their work here. Six of them have been convicted or are being prosecuted for writing about Russian war crimes in their independent reporting on the war in Ukraine.