Location: Russia, Vladimir
Date: April 20, 2021

Journalist Katya Arenina was detained by security forces in the region while she was investigating reports about torture in the penal facility present there. While the journalist was released shortly after, this was clearly an attempt to intimidate her and discourage her from pursuing the story.

Vostochnye Stories, a media publication organization in Russia reported that one of their correspondents Katya Arenina was detained in the Vladimir region. Katya was present in the region to cover the incidents of torture that reportedly take place in the penal facility present there. Katya was in the middle of a conversation with the wife of an alleged torture victim when a state official intervened and took her into custody. Katya was taken to the building of the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where she was kept for an hour before finally being released.

During her time in state custody, no communication could be established with Katya. According to her, she was detained for shooting an object belonging to the regime. While in custody, a police officer examined the video footage that Katya had managed to record. Katya was asked for her fingerprints, which she refused, citing that the process was illegal. Katya also refused to answer any police questions without the presence of her legal representation. Earlier, Katya had reported a story that claimed that guards who engaged in torture tactics in the penal facilities in the Vladimir region were rewarded with promotions.

This is not the first time the police targeted journalists associated with Vostochnye Stories. On April 9, the organization’s editorial office was searched without prior information and in the absence of any staff. Documents in the office were reportedly photographed.

“Nobody worked in our office yesterday, so we learned about the visit only when we met Anin outside the Investigative Committee after interrogation. At first glance, nothing was missing in the editorial office,”  the publication reported.

They found out about this invasion of privacy after speaking to the editor-in-chief of the publication, Roman Anin. Anin was targeted by the police department at the same time as the search that took place at the editorial office of the media outlet. The police used a previous, unrelated lawsuit against Anin as an excuse to search his property. It is believed that Vostochnye Stories is recurrently targeted for reporting on the institutional overreach taking place in the Russian prison system.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns this attempt to intimidate Katya Arenina into silence. Katya’s investigation of human rights violations occurring in state custody in the country is an important endeavor to ensure the safety of Russian civilians. Katya deserves all the support from the civil society for her work.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

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