Russian Journalist Acquitted with Fine After Terrorism Conviction: Courts Rare Leniency

A Russian journalist who was facing a six-year prison sentence for «justifying terrorism» was unexpectedly released on Wednesday after being imposed with a fine, marking a rare instance of leniency in such cases.

According to Russian news agencies, a military court judge in Moscow found Nadezhda Kevorkova guilty of «publicly justifying and inciting terrorism» through her social media posts. The esteemed 66-year-old journalist is known for her expertise in the Middle East.

Judge Roman Vladimirov decided to release her during the court session, imposing a fine of 600,000 rubles (approximately $6,900), which was reduced from 700,000 due to her time spent in detention since last May.

This decision came after Kevorkova’s attorney informed the court that Alina Kabaeva’s father — a former Olympic gymnast rumored to be in a relationship with President Vladimir Putin — had offered to act as her guarantor, as reported by the Mediazona website.

Marat Kabayev leads an association of Muslim businesspeople, according to the report.

Members of Kevorkova’s family were seen crying and embracing each other following the verdict, as captured in a video shared by the RusNews outlet.

«I don’t know what to say. Thank you to everyone,» her son, Vasily Polonsky, a fellow journalist, expressed in a Telegram post.

The ruling was delivered by a judge at Moscow’s Second Western District Court after prosecutors had sought a six-year prison term.

«In our times, a fine for such charges can be viewed as an acquittal,» her lawyer, Kaloi Akhilgov, remarked to reporters outside the court, as reported by the independent media outlet Mediazona, which monitors legal proceedings.

Kevorkova has contributed to leading Russian media organizations, including Novaya Gazeta, as well as pro-Kremlin outlets such as Russia Today.

She had maintained her innocence throughout the proceedings.

Her trial commenced on Monday, with final arguments presented by Kevorkova, her legal team, and the prosecutors on Wednesday.

Arrested in May of the previous year, Kevorkova was included in Russia’s list of «terrorists and extremists.»

The charges against her were rooted in two Telegram posts: one from 2020 discussing the Taliban and another from 2018 that she re-shared, pertaining to a 2005 Islamist attack in the Russian city of Nalchik.

Moscow officially classifies the Taliban as a banned organization, even though Russia has developed connections with the Islamist regime presently governing Afghanistan.

Kevorkova’s attorney had requested a non-custodial sentence regarding her post about the Taliban, in which she positively assessed the release of imprisoned militants, as stated by Mediazona.

Although President Putin signed legislation in December that may lead to lifting the Taliban’s «terrorist» designation, this designation remains unchanged for the time being.

In July, he referred to the group as «allies in the fight against terrorism.»

The defense team also urged the judge to clear her of the charges related to the reposting of another journalist’s content, Mediazona reported.