Russia: CFWIJ Condemns The Detentions And Legal Harassment Against Women Journalists

Russian law enforcement authorities detained at least three women journalists from different parts of the country while they were covering pro-Navalny protests. Yulia Suguyeva, Bariyat Idrisova, Ksenia Klochkova were detained in Makhachkala and Saint Petersburg. Yulia and Bariyat are correspondents for independent news website Mediazona. According to the journalist, they did show their press credentials to police but they were taken into a minibus along with other detainees. In Saint Petersburg, Ksenia Klochova, a correspondent for independent news website, Fontanka was investigated allegedly for causing obstruction in the movement of traffic during a protest. She was not detained but police searched her house. CFWIJ is alarmed by yet another wave of legal persecution and harassment against women journalists, covering protests. We demand that Russian authorities end targeting women journalists for doing their job and let them report freely.