Documented cases

6 people held for political reasons in Russia, Belarus, Georgia and Central Asia. Search by name, or filter by country, charge, arrest date and sentence.

Country

Urgency

Bohdan Mityuk

Bohdan Mityuk from Bryansk is on trial for discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. He was previously fined for a picture depicting a swastika merged with the letter Z.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

on trial

RU-CMGO

52 YRS

Bryansk, Bryansk Oblast

Anti-war

Dmitry Kalashnikov

Dmitry Kalashnikov was sentenced to eight months in a penal colony for rehabilitating Nazism. The charges arose from a comment made in a messenger groupchat that expressed a negative attitude towards the special military operation and symbols of Russian military glory.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMTI

AGE UNKNOWN

Klintsy, Bryansk Region

Evgeniy Parkhomenko

Evgeniy Parkhomenko, a sales consultant from Klintsy, was sentenced to 12 years in a strict regime colony for high treason involving alleged coordination with Ukrainian intelligence.

LAST UPDATED · OCT 7, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMS3

AGE UNKNOWN

Klintsy, Bryansk Oblast, Russia

Evgenii Aleksandrovich Parkhomenko

Yevgeny Parkhomenko was initially charged under Article 20.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (petty hooliganism), for which he received 14 days of arrest in October 2024. Shortly thereafter, he was charged under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code (high treason). According to investigators, Parkhomenko corresponded with a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in December 2022 and October 2024, during which he allegedly attempted to convey information about a Russian service member. However, as human rights activists note, these actions were the result of an FSB sting operation (a "covert" correspondence with a front man through intermediary V.V. Sekhina). On October 15, 2025, the court sentenced Parkhomenko to 12 years' imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony. Despite admitting guilt in part to the facts of the case, he claimed that his goal was to assist service members. On March 10, 2026, the appellate court upheld the verdict. Memorial human rights activists consider the case politically motivated and point to signs of an operational provocation by the security services.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 6, 2026

unknown

RU-CMGN

23 YRS

Belaya Berezka, Bryansk Oblast

Kirill Andreevich Belousov

Kirill Belousov was sentenced to 5 years in a strict regime colony for attempting to join the Legion "Freedom of Russia" in Ukraine. He was detained near the Ukrainian border and initially charged with administrative offenses before the criminal case was opened.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Ilya Vladimirovich Kutsev

Ilya Kutsev was sentenced to 7 years in prison for attempting to join the Ukrainian Legion "Freedom of Russia." He was detained while trying to cross the border into Belarus.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

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