Russia: CFWIJ Condemns The Unjustified Detention of Alesya Marokhovskaya, Polina Uzhvak and Irina Dolinina

Three women journalists were detained by the police in Moscow while picketing outside the Ministry of Justice on September 8. Alesya Marokhovskaya, Polina Uzhvak, and Irina Dolinina were protesting the use of the term “foreign agent” for independent journalists. They held signs with messages translated as, “They are not foreign agents, they are journalists.” Police arrested the three women journalists and later escorted them to a police van, as seen in a video aired by Dozhd TV station. The CFWIJ condemns the detention and demands the immediate release of the journalists. We urge the authorities to stop labeling dissenting voices, particularly the press, as foreign agents.