Three iStories journalists fined for picketing against ‘foreign agent’ designations
Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky District Court handed down fines to iStories journalists Alesya Marokhovskaya, Irina Dolinina, and Polina Uzhvak on Thursday, September 16.
The three journalists, who were arrested for carrying out solitary pickets opposing the designation of independent media outlets and journalists as “foreign agents,” were found guilty of violating the rules for holding public gatherings. According to Novaya Gazeta, the court fined each of them 10,000 rubles ($138). All three plan to appeal the ruling.
The three journalists were detained during a series of solitary pickets that took place outside of the Justice Ministry building in Moscow on September 8, the International Day of Journalists’ Solidarity.
On September 14, more than 150 Russian media outlets, nonprofits, and charitable organizations launched a petition demanding the repeal of Russia’s “foreign agents” law. The petition has garnered nearly 100,000 signatures in 48 hours.
The Russian Justice Ministry labeled Alesya Marokhovskaya and Irina Dolinina “foreign agents” in August, alongside several other iStories journalists and the publication itself.
