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February 06, 2026 – Russia –
Russian courts are increasingly using terrorism-related charges against Ukrainian journalists and media workers, effectively blocking their eligibility for prisoner exchanges and creating a further barrier to their release from detention, according to reporting from United24 Media and corroborated by social posts and rights-group data.
Under Russian law, individuals designated as “terrorists” face restrictions that exclude them from consideration in negotiated prisoner swaps, a status now being applied to journalists and other civilians from Ukraine who have been detained by Russian authorities. Analysts and observers say this shift represents a deliberate legal tactic to stigmatize journalists and retain them in custody indefinitely rather than see them freed through diplomatic or humanitarian deals.
Human rights organisations and press-freedom advocates report that Russian authorities have broadened the use of terrorism statutes beyond traditional definitions to encompass a wide range of activity, including journalistic reporting and civic engagement, especially in territories under occupation or against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. The Committee to Protect Journalists and other monitoring groups documented a global uptick in cases where journalists are jailed under politically charged charges such as “propaganda of terrorism” or “extremism,” a trend that has contributed to Russia becoming one of the world’s most dangerous places for news workers to operate.
Rights-watch reports show more than a hundred media workers are imprisoned in Russia and Belarus, with many sentenced under provisions like “propaganda of terrorism” or participation in so-called terrorist organisations. Some are serving sentences that span decades, while others remain detained in absentia.
Critics of the Russian justice system say the broad application of terrorism charges against journalists is designed not only to punish independent reporting but also to undermine international mechanisms for securing their release, including prisoner exchanges that have been used in previous cases to free detainees held on political or conflict-related grounds.
The strategy marks a deepening of Moscow’s legal and rhetorical repression of dissent, where independent journalism is increasingly conflated with security threats. Legal observers warn that this approach not only endangers individual journalists but also exacerbates the chilling effect on the free press within and beyond Russian-controlled territories.
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