Documented cases

5 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

Anastasia Tsvetkova

The Moscow Regional Court upheld the decision to remove observer Anastasia Tsvetkova from polling station No. 355. This followed her complaint regarding the improper sealing of ballot boxes.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 5, 2026

Krasnogorsk, Moscow region, Russia

Galina Shustanova

Galina Shustanova, a 64-year-old pensioner, was sentenced to seven years in a general regime colony for organizing the 'Soviet People' group, which was linked to the extremist 'Citizens of the USSR' organization. She denied any wrongdoing and claimed she only discussed the special military operation.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

LAST UPDATED · NOV 11, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMR9

19 YRS

Moscow region, Russia

Social media

Marat Nikandrov

Blogger Marat Nikandrov was sentenced to an eight-month suspended sentence for failing to submit activity reports as a designated 'foreign agent'. Nikandrov had previously applied for the status 'as a joke'.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 9, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMT9

23 YRS

Moscow region, Russia

Social media

Varvara Volkova

Former flight attendant Varvara Volkova was sentenced to 7 years in a colony for spreading 'fakes' about the Russian army in a Telegram chat. She claims her account was hacked.

LAST UPDATED · OCT 15, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMTO

63 YRS

Moscow Region, Russia

Religious

Nikolay Romanyuk

Pastor Nikolay Romanyuk was sentenced to 4 years in a labor camp for a 2022 sermon where he stated Russia's invasion of Ukraine was 'not our war'. His family alleges he was struck in the head by officers during his arrest.

TORTURE REPORTED INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

LAST UPDATED · OCT 30, 2026

Convicted

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Letter-writing guides: Russia · Belarus

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