A Russian court sentenced journalist Nika Novak to four years in prison Tuesday for allegedly cooperating with a foreign organization, in a case that underscores the country’s intensifying crackdown on independent media.
The Zabaikalsky Regional Court in Chita found Novak, 24, guilty of assisting in “the preparation of false materials discrediting the Armed Forces of Russia and government agencies” while working with foreign media representatives. The court claimed she received monetary compensation for actions aimed at damaging Russia’s reputation and destabilizing the country.
Novak, who previously worked as a freelance reporter for U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty according to Siberia.Realities, was arrested in Moscow in December 2023. Authorities transported her more than 6,000 kilometers east to Chita for a closed-door trial.
In a Telegram post published Tuesday after her sentencing, Novak described her seven-hour flight from Moscow’s Lefortovo prison to Chita. She revealed she remains barred from contacting her mother, who is listed as a witness in the case, and suggested authorities monitor all her communications. “I feel some pressure, but I try not to lose heart,” she wrote.
The journalist served as editor-in-chief of local news site Zab.ru and organized cultural events in Chita, a remote eastern Russian city closer to Japan than Moscow. The human rights organization Memorial has designated Novak a political prisoner.
The case represents another application of Russia’s foreign agent laws, which authorities have increasingly used to restrict press freedom, including actions against Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
