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

Maksim Artyomov

Maksim Artyomov was sentenced to 14 years in prison for high treason. The prosecution alleges he transferred money from his Revolut account to a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2024.

LAST UPDATED · SEP 6, 2026

Moscow (Vnukovo airport), Russia

Oleg Varyukhin

61-year-old entrepreneur Oleg Varyukhin is accused of high treason because he paid a mandatory military tax in Ukraine. He claims he was never a Russian citizen and the charge is absurd.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 7, 2026

Sheremetyevo airport, Russia

Yuriy Belenkiy

IT specialist Yuriy Belenkiy was sentenced to 13 years in prison for 'financing terrorism' related to cryptocurrency transfers. He was detained at Sheremetyevo airport in September 2025.

LAST UPDATED · OCT 29, 2026

Convicted

KZ-CMTX

AGE UNKNOWN

Almaty Airport, Kazakhstan

Yuliya Emelyanova

Russian activist and former staff member of Alexei Navalny’s St. Petersburg headquarters, Yuliya Emelyanova, was detained on August 31, 2025, at Almaty Airport during a layover. She was placed in pretrial detention in Kazakhstan while her asylum application was pending. On January 29, 2026, she was notified that Kazakhstan had approved her extradition to Russia. In Russia, she faces criminal charges for theft (Part 2, Article 158 of the Criminal Code) regarding an alleged incident in 2021 involving a taxi driver's phone. Human rights defenders and the Ark project claim the case is fabricated, noting that the alleged stolen item was only shown to her at a police station. Her lawyers intend to appeal the extradition decision.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 5, 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

Moscow, Vnukovo Airport

Anti-war

Ivan Sergeevich Shadrin

Ivan Shadrin was arrested on March 2, 2025, at Vnukovo Airport. He was initially sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest for "petty hooliganism," but during his trial, he disclosed his ties to terrorists. Immediately after his administrative arrest ended, on March 17, he was arrested again on suspicion of committing a criminal offense. He is charged with attempted participation in the activities of a terrorist organization (the Russian Volunteer Corps) under Part 3 of Article 30 and Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code. According to Shadrin, the charge stems from his desire to join the RVC out of sympathy for the people of Ukraine. He is currently in custody; there were also reports of a suicide attempt after his arrest.

HEALTH CONCERNS

LAST UPDATED · NOV 12, 2026

pre trial detention

UZ-CMOR

AGE UNKNOWN

Domodedovo Airport, Moscow, Karakalpakstan

Activism

Zhetkerbai Abdramanov

Zhetkerbai Abdramanov is a civic activist who worked as a vendor at a market in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He was detained for distributing materials expressing disagreement with constitutional changes in Uzbekistan that would abolish the sovereignty of Karakalpakstan. On December 26, 2024, he was abducted at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow and unlawfully transferred to Uzbekistan. On April 29, 2025, the Nukus City Court sentenced him to house arrest for 4 years and 7 months.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 23, 2026

unknown

RU-CMTI

49 YRS

Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow

Tatiana Omelchenko

Tatiana Omelchenko, a resident of Kyiv, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for making 16 transfers totaling 6600 hryvnias to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

LAST UPDATED · NOV 6, 2026

Danil Andreevich Efimov

Danil Efimov, a student, was sentenced to 12 years for state treason due to transferring money to a Ukrainian charity. He was detained at Volgograd airport, and allegedly tortured while in custody.

TORTURE REPORTED

LAST UPDATED · AUG 20, 2026

Moscow (Vnukovo Airport)

Treason or espionage

Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Lutor

Vyacheslav Lutor was sentenced to 10 years in a strict regime colony for preparing to participate in a terrorist organization, preparing to commit treason, and collaborating with a representative of a foreign state. He was detained at Vnukovo Airport and allegedly confessed to reconnaissance of an industrial object for a Ukrainian drone attack.

LAST UPDATED · AUG 20, 2026

Convicted

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