Documented cases

4 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

Maxim Petryakov

Maxim Petryakov was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence for discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. The case stemmed from comments he made on the social media platform VKontakte.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Mikhail Shevchuk

Mikhail Shevchuk and Alexander Neverov, both Jehovah's Witnesses, were sentenced to 6.5 and 7 years in prison respectively for organizing the activities of an extremist organization. They were taken into custody immediately in court.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 5, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMI8

69 YRS

Saransk, Republic of Mordovia

Activism

Marin Sergey Trofimovich

Sergey Maryin, a pensioner and human rights activist from Saransk, was sentenced to 1 year in a penal colony for discrediting the Russian army. He had previously been fined for a similar offense.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Yelena Nikulina

Yelena Nikulina and her husband were sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison for participating in banned Jehovah's Witness activities. She argued in court that there were no victims in their religious practice.

LAST UPDATED · OCT 27, 2026

Convicted

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Letter-writing guides: Russia · Belarus

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