Former RFE/RL contributor Nika Novak, who was sentenced to jail final yr by a Russian court docket for finishing up her skilled duties, has disappeared from a Siberian correctional colony, her lawyer stated.
Yulia Kuznetsova stated in a social media put up that it appeared Novak was being transferred from Penal Colony No. 11 within the village of Bozoy within the Irkutsk area, although her vacation spot was unknown.
“This week, a lawyer colleague of mine tried to go to Nika, however was denied entry,” Kuznetsova wrote. “He seen a loud noise and numerous Investigative Committee officers within the colony. The jail workers aren’t explaining what precisely occurred.”
Kuznetsova stated she known as the colony on November 30 for data on Novak however was rejected and instructed to submit a request, which she subsequently did.
Novak was handed a four-year sentence after a closed-door trial for “confidential cooperation with a international state, worldwide or international group” — a sentence she and rights organizations take into account unjust.
She was transferred to Penal Colony No. 11 on March 1, the place she complained about torture-like circumstances earlier than occurring a starvation strike.
She has stated she was positioned in solitary confinement for refusing to present media interviews about how “the whole lot is okay within the colony and the prisoners are glad” and for refusing to work as a seamstress.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President Steve Capus has known as on Russian authorities to launch Novak, saying her conviction on “politically motivated expenses are geared toward silencing and chilling particular person reporters.”
Before her arrest, Novak had labored for ChitaMedia and was editor in chief of the Zab.ru web site. She contributed to packages by RFE/RL’s Siberia.Realities in 2022.
The 33-year-old’s case marked the primary time {that a} journalist was sentenced beneath Article 275.1, against the law that was solely launched in 2022 within the months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Rights consultants have criticized the conception and wording of the regulation, whereas Human Rights Watch known as the laws “paying homage to the Soviet-era ban on contacts with foreigners” in its 2023 World Report.
On July 22, 2024, main Russian human rights group Memorial acknowledged Novak as a political prisoner.
Her detention has additionally been condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Coalition for Women in Journalism, and the International Press Institute, which stated Nika’s sentencing was “made attainable by Russia’s continued instrumentalization of its personal laws with the purpose of repressing unbiased journalists and different important voices.”
