Russia fines veteran journalist for 'justifying terrorism'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian military court fined veteran war correspondent Nadezhda Kevorkova 600,000 roubles ($6,900) on Wednesday after finding her guilty of "justifying terrorism".

A Reuters reporter in the courtroom said Kevorkova was released from custody, where she had been held throughout the investigation and trial.

The 66-year-old has reported extensively in the Middle East and is the author of numerous books about Palestine. She was arrested in May 2024 in Moscow and has maintained her innocence.

"I have never supported and do not support any political organisations. I do not support terrorist activity," Kevorkova was cited by Russian independent outlet Mediazona as saying in court.

According to her lawyer, the case against her stemmed from a post she wrote on her Telegram channel about Afghanistan's Taliban. Russia added the Taliban to its terrorist list in 2003, but last December approved a bill allowing for its ban on the group to be removed.

The September 2020 post concerned efforts by the Taliban to secure the release of its fighters from Afghan prisons, Mediazona reported. The prosecution case was also based on a text written by a fellow Russian journalist which Kevorkova reposted on Telegram, about a deadly raid by Islamist militants in southern Russia in 2005.

Reuters was not able to locate the original posts.

Russia has in recent months taken steps towards recognising Afghanistan's Taliban government, which seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal after 20 years of war. Last summer President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban Russia's "ally" in fighting terrorism.

A well-known Russian playwright and theatre director, Svetlana Petriychuk and Yevgenia Berkovich, were jailed for six years last July for "justifying terrorism" after they staged a play about Russian women who marry Islamic State fighters.

At least 40 media professionals are currently behind bars in Russia, according to Reporters without Borders, a press freedom organisation.

($1 = 87.0455 roubles)

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)