Russia charges Middle East reporter with ‘justifying terrorism’ over social media posts about the Taliban
Russia has arrested journalist and Middle East correspondent Nadezhda Kevorkova and charged her with “justifying terrorism.” The charges are reportedly related to years-old social media posts about the Taliban and Islamic militants in the North Caucasus. Despite the Taliban’s official designation as a terrorist organization in Russia, the Russian authorities frequently invite the group’s leaders to Moscow and have discussed plans to remove the group from Russia’s list of terrorist organizations.
Russian journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova has been arrested and charged with “justifying terrorism” over two posts on her Telegram channel, her lawyer said on Monday.
The investigation is connected to posts “justifying” an attack by Islamic militants on a city in the North Caucasus and “the activities of the Taliban,” wrote Izvestia and REN-TV. Anonymous sources told these publications that Kevorkova “maintains friendly communications with people involved in terrorist activities and financing ISIS.”
The journalist’s lawyer, Kaloy Akhilgov, clarified that the charges are related to a 2021 post about the Taliban, as well as a text Kevorkova shared about the 2005 Nalchik attack, written by journalist Orkhan Dzhemal. Akhilgov noted that Dzhemal was a close friend of Kevorkova’s, and she shared his writing shortly after his murder in the Central African Republic in 2018.
Nadezhda Kevorkova works as a correspondent covering the Middle East and Russia’s North Caucasus region. She has written for both independent and state-funded Russian news organizations and is the author of three books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2010, she was nominated for the International Women of Courage Award.
On May 7, Moscow’s Basmanny Court remanded Kevorkova in custody until July 6. The journalist has denied the charges against her.
Russia’s Supreme Court officially designated the Taliban as a terrorist organization in 2003. In December 2017, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russian authorities engage with the Taliban only under two circumstances: when Russian citizens or citizens of allied nations have been harmed, or to persuade the Taliban to participate in peace negotiations in Afghanistan. Two years later, in November 2019, both Lavrov and Taliban representatives attended a conference in Moscow. Since then, Taliban delegations have visited Moscow several times, including after the group seized power in Afghanistan.
In October 2021, after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was nearing a decision to remove the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations. However, he emphasized that the U.N. Security Council should do so first. At the same time, he acknowledged that the Russian authorities maintain a relationship with the Taliban and invite representatives to Moscow. Later, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was working to remove the Taliban’s “terrorist organization” status but that the final decision would be made by the country’s top leadership.
