Occupation authorities intensify pressure on Crimean journalist

The occupation authorities of Crimea have launched a new stage of repression against journalist Anna Gajazhala. After she spent 7 months in custody for exposing corruption schemes in medicine (through an appeal to the Kremlin), the invaders fabricated a new case.

This was reported by the Voice of Crimea.

This time, the journalist is charged with 'interference with privacy' and 'illegal access to computer data' under Russian law. The new prosecution became known from resources close to the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation.

The new charges against Anna Gajala are based on a two-year old correspondence. Back then, an unknown person sent the journalist documents that allegedly showed violations by a Crimean official. Gajala not only did not use this data, but also directly refused to deal with this story, considering it uninteresting for the air. However, the occupation investigation considered the fact of receiving the message as 'complicity in slander' and 'hacking of computer data'. Investigators explicitly state that the mere acquaintance with 'suspicious' persons is enough for accusatory status.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has committed 870 crimes against journalists and media. The most recent cases include the shelling of editorial offices and the sentencing of a civilian journalist from occupied Crimea to 14 years in prison.

In the three years and ten months since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed 870 crimes against Ukrainian journalists and media. In November-December 2025 alone, IMI recorded two cases: damage to editorial offices and judicial pressure on Ukrainian journalists held by Russia.

During this period, two media workers who stood up for Ukraine were killed. Kostyantyn Shtyfurak was a military officer, filmmaker, and journalist; since the summer of 2022, he served as a UAV unit commander in the Hell Hornets unit of the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Ivan Mazepa.

Vasyl Khomko, the former director of the show "Heads and Tails," died on October 2, 2025, while covering the group's retreat. He volunteered for the front in March 2022, first serving in the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade and then in the Special Operations Forces. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 121 media workers have been killed, including 15 in the line of duty.

Катерина Глушко