Russia arrested six journalists within a month, one of whom was covering Navalny

Authorities in Russia have arrested six journalists in the country within a month, including the journalist who filmed the trials of the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, the media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders has announced.

Antonina Favorskaya has been arrested and charged by Russian authorities with participating in an "extremist organization" by posting about Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation on social media, Russian human rights group OVD-Info has reported. Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony in February, AP reported.

Favorskaya covered Navalny's court hearings for years and filmed his last video before he died in the penal colony. She is one of several Russian journalists targeted by authorities as part of a sweeping crackdown on dissent in Russia, targeting opposition figures, journalists, activists and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Two other journalists, Alexandra Astakhova and Anastasia Musatova, were also temporarily detained after going to meet Favorskaya at the detention center where she was being held, Reporters Without Borders said, adding that their homes were searched and seized the equipment.

Ekaterina Anikievich, of Russian news site SOTAvision, and Konstantin Yarov of RusNews were also arrested by police while covering the search of Favorskaya's home. Yarov was beaten by police, threatened with sexual violence and taken to a hospital, according to Reporters Without Borders. Yarov is accused of "disobedience" to the police and risks 15 days of detention, the group added.

In Ufa, 1,300 kilometers east of Moscow, Russian authorities arrested Olga Komleva, a journalist for RusNews, on Wednesday. They also accused him of extremism and involvement with Navalny and his organization, Reporters Without Borders said.

OVD-Info has said that Favorskaya was initially arrested on March 17 after placing flowers on Navalny's grave. She spent 10 days in jail after being charged with disobeying police, but when that period of detention ended, authorities charged her again and ordered her to appear in Moscow's Basmanny District Court on Friday. 

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Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation has been designated an extremist organization by Russian authorities, meaning people associated with it could face prison terms if they continue to be involved in its work.

Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokeswoman, has said that Favorskaya did not publish anything on the Foundation's platforms, adding that Russian authorities targeted her because she was doing her job as a journalist.