Documented cases

8 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

Unknown male 344

A resident of Yelizovo was detained and fined for expressing support in Telegram for the Ukrainian right-wing radical movement. The individual was charged with justification of terrorism.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMHM

67 YRS

Zaporozhye village, Kamchatka Krai

Treason or espionage

Valery Vladimirovich Dobrovolsky

Valery Dobrovolsky, a citizen of Ukraine and Russia with a disability, is under house arrest. He is accused of confidential collaboration with a foreign state and allegedly admitted to communicating with representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

HEALTH CONCERNS

LAST UPDATED · SEP 10, 2026

Valeria Dobrovolsky

Valeria Dobrovolsky, a 68-year-old Ukrainian national living in Kamchatka, is facing high treason charges. The case stems from his alleged communication with the SBU and a trip to Ukraine to renew his passport.

HEALTH CONCERNS

LAST UPDATED · NOV 9, 2026

on trial

RU-CMRT

AGE UNKNOWN

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Krai, Russia

Activism

Petrov Aleksei Viktorovich

Alexey Petrov is charged with terrorist activity (Part 2, Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code) based on a Facebook post dated August 13, 2020. In the post, he ironically commented on an article about a COVID-19 vaccine, suggesting "injecting this vaccine into the Kremlin's Kashchei." Investigators, relying on a specialist's report, interpreted this as a call to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. Previously, in August 2024, a fraud case (Part 1, Article 159.2 of the Russian Criminal Code) was opened against Petrov. Analysts believe this case was used to conduct searches and gather evidence for a politically motivated case. The case is characterized by a number of procedural violations: the use of a specialist's report in lieu of a full-fledged expert examination, the substitution of concepts, and exceeding the scope of one's jurisdiction. Petrov was arrested on January 6, 2025, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and remanded in custody by the court. Investigators are also reviewing his statements for incitement to hatred (Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code). Petrov is currently in custody, and Rosfinmonitoring has added him to its list of terrorists and extremists.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 6, 2026

Valery Dobrovolsky

A 68-year-old Ukrainian national with disabilities was sentenced to 14 years in a strict regime colony for high treason. He was accused of maintaining contact with the SBU.

HEALTH CONCERNS INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

LAST UPDATED · NOV 9, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMGO

71 YRS

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Krai

Journalism

Vladimir Efimov

Vladimir Efimov, a journalist and Yabloko party official, was sentenced to two years in a settlement-type colony for discrediting the military and propagating Nazi symbols. His legal troubles involved multiple merged cases and periods of detention and house arrest.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 23, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMS1

35 YRS

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka

Artur Salov

Artur Salov was sentenced to nearly 24 years in prison for allegedly planning to blow up a military enlistment office and committing arson on behalf of a Ukrainian organization. He was detained in December 2023.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 5, 2026

Sergey Ledenyov

Sergey Ledenyov was among 21 Jehovah's Witnesses convicted of extremism charges in late 2020. The article highlights the trend of courts issuing suspended sentences rather than prison terms in recent cases.

LAST UPDATED · OCT 25, 2026

Convicted

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Letter-writing guides: Russia · Belarus

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