Prosecutors Demand Harsh Sentence for Bashkortostan Activist Linked to Navalny

State prosecutors are pursuing a 13-year prison term for a journalist and activist in Bashkortostan, citing her connections to Alexei Navalny’s prohibited political group and accusations of disseminating “false information” regarding the Russian military.

Olga Komleva volunteered for several years with Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) before it was declared “extremist” in 2021, as reported by the exiled news outlet Mediazona. She was detained at pro-Navalny demonstrations that same year and has faced multiple fines.

Additionally, Komleva has worked as a journalist with the independent media platform RusNews, where she reported on a series of protests in Bashkortostan last year.

Her trial is taking place behind closed doors at the Kirovsky District Court in Ufa, with a verdict anticipated on July 24.

Komleva’s husband, Vyacheslav, expressed to RusNews that he was not surprised by the heavy sentence sought by prosecutors for his wife.

“She is being punished because they have no other charges,” he remarked after a hearing on Friday. “When the prosecution lacks evidence, they resort to requesting these inhumane, outrageous sentences… Any rational individual can see what kind of trial this is.”

Komleva has previously been listed in Russia’s registry of “terrorists and extremists” and has also been branded a “foreign agent.”