Concerns Mount as Russian Journalist Marks Second Anniversary in Detention

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

PRAGUE/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Concerns are mounting over the fate of a young journalist with the U.S.-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) as she marks a second year in Russian detention, preparing to spend another New Year behind bars.

Journalist Nika Novak, a Russian citizen, was detained in Moscow after officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) raided the apartment she shared with her mother, RFE/RL said in a statement marking the anniversary.

Her mother watched as her daughter was “violently dragged out of their home and detained,” the broadcaster recalled.

In November 2024, Novak was sentenced to four years in prison on charges of “collaboration with a foreign organization,” becoming the first journalist convicted under that statute, legislation widely criticized by human rights groups.

She is currently held in what RFE/RL described as a notoriously harsh penal colony in Siberia. Former inmates have reported beatings, blackmail, and solitary confinement at the facility.

In November 2025, Novak was held incommunicado for nine days, denied contact with legal counsel and family members, according to people familiar with her case.

‘UNJUST DETENTION’

Russia’s leading human rights group Memorial has designated Novak a political prisoner, and international press-freedom organizations have repeatedly condemned her detention.

“Nika’s unjust detention cannot continue. She must be released,” RFE/RL said, urging supporters to send messages of solidarity and hope.

The broadcaster encouraged supporters to write to Novak via advocacy@rferl.org, in English or Russian.

RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was previously detained in Russia, said receiving letters during her own imprisonment provided vital encouragement. “Every stamp on an envelope was a window to the world of freedom,” she said.

Kurmasheva, who holds U.S. and Russian citizenship, lives in Prague with her husband and two daughters.

Russia has faced sustained international criticism over what rights groups describe as a crackdown on independent journalism, particularly reporting that questions the war in Ukraine and policies of President Vladimir Putin.

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