Documented cases

10 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

Evgeny Zolotov

Evgeny Zolotov, an infectious disease doctor, was fined 3 million rubles for comments on Facebook about the losses of the Russian army and the formation of "barrier troops" from Chechen servicemen.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMT6

72 YRS

Sochi, Krasnodar Krai

Fedor Gorbenko

72-year-old Fedor Gorbenko was sentenced to 13 years in a strict regime colony for high treason. He was accused of collecting satellite positioning data for the Security Service of Ukraine.

LAST UPDATED · OCT 15, 2026

Viktoria Sergeeva

Viktoria Sergeeva, a 55-year-old Crimean resident, was charged with high treason following allegations of sending money to the AFU. She claims the transfers were made via an old SIM card she no longer controls and reports being subjected to physical abuse and torture in SIZO.

TORTURE REPORTED

LAST UPDATED · SEP 10, 2026

Sochi Airport, Krasnodar region

Natalia A.

Natalia A., a resident of Krasnodar, disappeared after being detained at Sochi airport upon returning from visiting her grandmother in Kherson. She was initially arrested for 11 days for disobeying a military serviceman, but was then taken away by the FSB and her whereabouts are currently unknown.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Detained

RU-CMU6

19 YRS

Sochi, Krasnodar Krai

Olga Mishanina

19-year-old Olga Mishanina was sentenced to 7 years in a general regime colony for attempting to join the Ukrainian armed forces. Her father, Dmitry Mishanin, was also sentenced to 18 years for high treason and terrorism-related charges.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 4, 2026

Adrian-David Kercho

Adrian-David Kercho, a Romanian citizen, was sentenced to 15 years in a strict regime colony for espionage in favor of Ukraine. He allegedly used a drone to collect information on air defense systems in Sochi.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

LAST UPDATED · OCT 7, 2026

Maksim Artemov

Maksim Artemov, a dual Russian-Swedish citizen, was sentenced to 14 years in a strict regime colony for high treason after transferring money to a Ukrainian soldier via Revolut.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

LAST UPDATED · NOV 7, 2026

Alexander Ushakov

Alexander Ushakov, 21, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to join the Russian Volunteer Corps in Ukraine. He faces charges including justification of terrorism and preparation for high treason.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 9, 2026

Irina Kostrova

History teacher Irina Kostrova was sentenced to 1 year and 4 months in a settlement colony for posting a historical Nazi-era poster on social media. She reported being forced to sign a confession under threats from security forces.

TORTURE REPORTED

LAST UPDATED · NOV 6, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMI8

73 YRS

Sochi, Krasnodar Krai

Activism

Vladimir Atamanchuk

Vladimir Atamanchuk, a retired resident of Sochi, faces charges for repeatedly discrediting the Russian Armed Forces by distributing anti-war leaflets. He has experienced pressure from investigators and has had health problems.

HEALTH CONCERNS

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

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