Statement by the Yabloko party, 14.04.2021

Photo: Alla Gutnikova, Editor of the DOXA magazine  / Photo by @avtozaklive

Another act of pressure on independent journalism is taking place. Searches were carried out in the homes of the staff of the students’ magazine DOXA. They face up to three years in prison on an absurd charge of persuading minors to commit unlawful actions.

The journalists published a video demanding that the authorities stop intimidating students before rallies, but they removed it when allegations against them emerged.

There is no doubt that the pressure on DOXA is part of the Kremlin’s large repressive campaign to curtail freedom of speech and intimidate the independent press. The criminal case of Ivan Safronov, ex-journalist of Kommersant, searches in the home of Roman Anin, Editor-in-Chief of “Important stories”, and the arrest of Sergei Smirnov, publisher of Mediazona are in this row of events.

DOXA is one of the best students’ media in the country. Yabloko expresses solidarity with journalists and demands an immediate end to the persecution of DOXA magazine staff, the return of equipment and compensation for the damage caused.

Freedom of speech and creativity, academic freedom, and self-government are necessary pre-requisites for development in the 21st century. Trying to make people get used to fear is a crime against the future of the country.

Nikolai Rybakov,

Chairman by the Yabloko party