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<\/p>\n
On Friday, Mr. Gershkovich\u00a0was handed a 16-year prison sentence on spying charges in a Russian court. The\u00a0reporter was arrested in Russia in 2023 and has been held there since, despite calls for his release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That same day, Ms.\u00a0Kurmasheva received a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence for \u201cspreading fake news about the Russian army.\u201d She has been\u00a0arbitrarily detained in Russia since 18 October.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The UN experts said they are shocked\u00a0by the journalists\u2019 being sentenced for \u201ccrimes they did not commit.\u201d They\u00a0also condemned the trial processes which had led to the convictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rushed and secretive nature of their trials — over three and two days respectively, and behind closed doors — is\u00a0yet another demonstration of the sham trials and convictions on fabricated charges of reporters who were just doing their job<\/strong>,\u201d the experts said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Mr. Gershkovich\u2019s case, the Special Rapporteurs noted that the closed-door trials prove that the court\u2019s verdict was politically motivated to punish the journalist for reporting\u00a0concerning\u00a0Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n They said:\u00a0\u201cWe are concerned about the\u00a0instrumentalisation and increased use of national security laws in Russia to unduly restrict freedom of expression, following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and effectively\u00a0criminalising any independent journalism aimed at reporting on the war.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to Mr.\u00a0Gershkocivh and\u00a0Ms.Kurmasheva, around\u00a033 journalists are currently detained in Russia reflecting a dangerous trend of increased \u201ccrackdowns\u201d on independent media and opposing voices since the beginning of the\u00a0full-scale\u00a0invasion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The experts call for the \u201cimmediate and unconditional release\u201d of all the journalists in Russia who were detained for doing their jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n They also call for the Russian government to \u201crepeal all legislation unduly restricting freedom of expression, such as \u2018spreading fake news about the Russian army\u2019 and \u2018discrediting the Russian army.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Further, the experts demand that Russia amend its criminal laws to prevent the abuse of national security laws to limit freedom of expression, specifically for journalists who are truthfully reporting about the war in Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to\u00a0monitor and report on specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or\u00a0organisation.\u00a0They serve in their individual\u00a0capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nCall for repeal<\/strong><\/h2>\n