Journalist Olga Komleva has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of spreading “fake news” about the military and collaborating with the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).

The Kirovsky District Court in Ufa has sentenced RusNews journalist Olga Komleva to 12 years in a general regime penal colony for allegedly spreading “fake news” about the military and participating in FBK. Mediazona reported this.

The trial was held behind closed doors. The prosecutor had requested a 13-year sentence for Komleva.

In March 2024, law enforcement officers came to Komleva’s home in Ufa, a major city in the Urals region, demanding she appear for questioning in a criminal case, but did not issue her a summons. She suspected this was connected to her coverage of the so-called “Baymak case”—a case brought against participants of a public gathering in support of Bashkort activist Fail Alsynov.

Later, officers came to Komleva again, this time with a court order to bring her in for questioning as a witness in the FBK case. During her detention, an officer suggested she pack basic necessities. When she asked if she was being arrested, the officer refused to answer.

At the office of the Investigative Committee for Kirovsky District, Ufa, Komleva was charged under “extremist community” legislation (Part 2, Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code). She was detained for 48 hours and then transferred to pre-trial detention the next day.

According to the investigators’ version of events, Komleva “voluntarily joined an extremist community under the influence of propaganda by FBK (‘Navalny’s Team’).”

In July, a new charge was added against Komleva: spreading “fake news” about the military out of political hatred (Paragraph “d,” Part 2, Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The reason for this new prosecution remains unknown.

In March this year, Komleva’s husband reported sexual harassment by staff at Ufa’s pre-trial detention centre No. 1 towards the journalist. During searches, a female guard “felt her breasts near the nipples […] after a walk, the guard again ran her hands over her breasts and nipples,” and later touched the detainee’s buttocks. The harassment stopped after the issue was publicised in the media and a complaint was filed with the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Komleva’s husband believes this was connected to a lawsuit the journalist had filed against Ufa pre-trial detention centre No. 1 in December, contesting the censorship of letters and their incomplete delivery to recipients.

15:54 In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a five-year ban on Komleva after her release from organising or participating in mass events, including social-political, cultural, sporting events, public meetings, rallies, marches and pickets. This was reported by the press service of the courts of Bashkortostan.

For the same period, she is also banned from administering websites. The court also imposed one year of restricted freedom.

• After protests in support of Alexei Navalny in 2021, the Interior Ministry and the National Guard filed 18 lawsuits against the activist. They demanded she pay for law enforcement expenses related to the protests. The total claims in these lawsuits amount to more than five million rubles (over US$55,000).