Russian Journalist Avoids Jail Sentence But Given Huge Fine in 'Justifying Terrorism'

A Russian journalist avoided a prison sentence on Monday but was given a $7,000 fine for "justifying terrorism" in a controversial case that sparked an outcry at home and abroad. Svetlana Prokopyeva, who is based in the northwestern city of Pskov, was charged with publicly justifying terrorism over a column she wrote about a bombing attack that targeted the FSB security service in the north of the country in 2018. The 40-year-old walked out of a Pskov courtroom a free woman after the judge found her guilty and ordered her to pay a fine of 500,000 rubles ($6,950). Prokopyeva works for the Russian service of the US-funded...