The German government has condemned the imposition of further restrictions on media freedom in Russia in connection with the pre-trial detention of two Russian journalists who also work for Western media.
Media freedom is not a given in Russia and is being increasingly restricted, a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office said in Berlin on Monday.
Russian media have reported that both journalists are accused of participating in an extremist organization. The pre-trial detention imposed on them on Saturday is initially valid until June.
Both are alleged to have supplied video material for the Navalny Live YouTube channel, which is banned in Russia. It is one of the media projects founded by late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in custody in February.