Russian journalist Veronika Orlova served a 13-day administrative arrest after being convicted on charges of “disobeying a police officer.” She was detained May 6, 2025, and sentenced on May 7. She was released May 19.
Orlova, a reporter with the independent news outlet SOTAvision, was detained in Moscow after filming the aftermath of a protest against President Vladimir Putin.
Orlova was in Moscow to cover a Supreme Court hearing and was walking near Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge when she began filming a rescue boat where activist Grigory Saksonov was earlier detained after jumping into the river with a sign that read “Putin–Hitler.” The police detained her 15 minutes later.
Orlova was sentenced to 13 days of administrative detention on charges of “disobeying a police officer,” which she denied. Her outlet and lawyer said that she had no connection to Saksonov’s protest.
Two SOTAvision journalists, Artyom Krieger and Antonina Favorskaya, are currently serving a 5.5-year prison term after being sentenced in April 2025 on extremism charges that they denied.
In May 2025, CPJ filled out a Russia’s Ministry of Interior online form requesting comment, but did not immediately receive a reply.