Documented cases

14 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

Sergei Mazin

Sergei Mazin was convicted for discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. He was sentenced to one year and six months of compulsory labor, with a monthly deduction of 5% of his wages.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast

Social media

Gregory Marcus Severin Winter

Gregory Marcus Severin Winter, a human rights defender, was sentenced to 3 years in prison for spreading "fakes" about the RF Armed Forces through a VKontakte post regarding Bucha and Mariupol. He has a history of persecution, including prior convictions and allegations of torture.

TORTURE REPORTED INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMGO

48 YRS

Vologda, Vologda Oblast

Social media

Sergey Soloviev

Sergey Soloviev was sentenced to two years in a penal colony for posting negative comments about Russian servicemen on the social network VKontakte. He had previously been fined for similar comments regarding the Ministry of Defence.

LAST UPDATED · SEP 5, 2026

Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast

Social media

Andrei Beletskii

Andrei Beletskii was sentenced to three years in prison for a comment deemed as public justification of terrorism. His comment was in support of Ruslan Zimin, who shot a military recruiting officer.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMGO

59 YRS

Vologda, Vologda Oblast

Social media

Olga Kozlova

Olga Kozlova was fined 300,000 roubles for posting a comment on Telegram that appeared to approve the activities of the Freedom of Russia Legion. She previously spent time under house arrest during the investigation.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Sergey Mazin

Sergey Mazin, convicted of repeatedly discrediting the army due to anti-war videos, was sentenced to 1.5 years of compulsory labor. A court recently rejected a request by prison authorities to replace this with actual prison time.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 11, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMT5

33 YRS

Vologda region, Russia

Alena Lysanova

Alena Lysanova, daughter of a business executive, was sentenced to 13 years in a general regime colony. She was accused of high treason for transferring funds to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

LAST UPDATED · OCT 15, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMI8

41 YRS

Totma, Vologda region

Social media

Sergey Vladimirovich Mazin

Sergey Mazin was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of forced labor for discrediting the Russian Armed Forces online. He had previously been fined for a similar administrative offense related to reposting anti-war content on VK.

LAST UPDATED · SEP 10, 2026

Sergey Mazin

A court in Vologda refused a request from the prison service to toughen the sentence for Sergey Mazin. He was previously sentenced to 1.5 years of compulsory labor for posting anti-war videos.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 12, 2026

Anatoly Valentinovich Burov

Anatoly Burov, a political activist from Vologda, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for public calls for terrorist activities and justification of terrorism online. The charges stem from a video he shared on Telegram containing excerpts of a speech by Mikhail Kriger.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

RU-CMI8

50 YRS

Vologda, Vologda Oblast

Journalism

Evgeny Domozhirov

Evgeny Domozhirov, a journalist and politician, is being prosecuted for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian Armed Forces in his Telegram posts. The case is related to posts about events in Ukraine and the conduct of Russian soldiers, with no verdict yet reached.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Vologda, Vologda Oblast

Polina Roots

Polina Roots and her husband Vitaly Torochkov were arrested in September 2022 and charged with public justification of terrorism, manufacture, and possession of explosives. Roots was sentenced to nine years in a general regime colony and fined 350,000 rubles.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast

Activism

Gregory Markus Severin Vinter

Gregory Markus Severin Vinter, an activist and human rights defender, was sentenced to 3 years in a general regime colony. He was convicted for spreading false information about the Russian Armed Forces based on political hatred.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Sergey Arbuzov

Sergey Arbuzov (Burkevich) was sentenced to 6 years in a strict regime colony for online comments supporting terrorism and for theft. He claims he was beaten by authorities and forced to confess.

TORTURE REPORTED

LAST UPDATED · AUG 16, 2026

Convicted

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