A Russian reporter who faced six years in jail after being convicted of validating terrorism was released with a fine on Wednesday in an uncommon lenient ruling.A judge at a military court in Moscow discovered Nadezhda Kevorkova guilty of openly justifying and calling for terrorism in posts, Russian news firms reported.
The highly regarded 66-year-old reporter concentrates on the Middle East.But judge Roman Vladimirov released her in the courtroom with a 600,000-ruble ($6,900) fine, lowered from 700,000 rubles because she had been held in detention considering that last May.The decision came after Kevorkovas attorney informed the court that the dad of Alina Kabaeva a previous Olympic gymnast commonly reported to be the partner of President Vladimir Putin had used to be her guarantor, the Mediazona website reported.Marat Kabayev heads an association of Muslim entrepreneurs, it reported.Kevorkovas family members wept and welcomed after the verdict, video published by the RusNews outlet revealed.
I do not even understand what to say.
Thanks to everyone, her kid, Vasily Polonsky, also a reporter, wrote on Telegram.The sentence, released by a judge at Moscows Second Western District court, came after district attorneys had actually demanded the judge problem a six-year jail sentence.
In our days, a fine for such a charge can be considered an acquittal, her lawyer Kaloi Akhilgov told reporters outside court, the independent Mediazona news website, which monitors trials, wrote.Kevorkova has written for Russias top media outlets consisting of Novaya Gazeta and has actually also written for pro-Kremlin media such as Russia Today.She had pleaded not guilty to the charge.Her trial opened Monday, with Kevorkova and her attorneys and district attorneys making their last statements Wednesday.Kevorkova was detained in May in 2015 and added by Russia to its list of terrorists and extremists.
The accusation was based on 2 posts she wrote on Telegram: one from 2020 on the Taliban and a re-post from another reporter in 2018 about a 2005 Islamist raid on the Russian city of Nalchik.The Taliban is officially prohibited by Moscow, though Russia has actually created ties with the Islamist authorities that now govern Afghanistan.Kevorkovas attorney had actually asked the court to issue a non-custodial sentence for her post about the Taliban, in which she assessed positively the release of put behind bars fighters, Mediazona reported.Although Putin in December signed a bill paving the way to removing the Talibans terrorist classification, the label has not yet been lifted.In July he called the group allies in the fight against terrorism.
Kevorkovas defense team likewise asked the judge to acquit her over reposting another reporters words, Mediazona reported.