An 18-year-old anti-fascist from Chita, a major city in Eastern Siberia, has been transferred to an adult penal colony.

18-year-old anti-fascist Lyubov Lizunova from Chita, a major city in Eastern Siberia, who was convicted over anti-war graffiti and Telegram channels, has been transferred to Correctional Colony No. 7 in Ulan-Ude. This was reported by the “Left Political Prisoners Support Fund.”

Previously, she was held at Tomsk Juvenile Educational Colony No. 2, where she completed the 11th grade and received her school certificate. “Lyuba is not losing heart, she is coping and says that she finds adults more interesting, she is not afraid of change, and even if conditions in the new colony are worse, it doesn’t scare her—she is very happy to have finished school, and she hopes to see her parents soon,” her support group wrote.

In April 2024, Lizunova was sentenced to three years in a penal colony, while the second person in the case, Aleksandr Snezhkov, received six years. Another defendant, Vladislav Vishnevsky, was sentenced to a year and a half of compulsory labour. Snezhkov and Vishnevsky were found guilty of politically motivated vandalism (Part 2, Article 214 of the Russian Criminal Code), while the charge against Lizunova under this article was dropped because she was underage at the time. All three were also convicted for “inciting extremism” (Part 2, Article 280) and “inciting terrorism” (Part 2, Article 205.2).

Snezhkov and Lizunova were detained in Chita in autumn 2022 on suspicion of creating anti-war graffiti and administering the Telegram channels “75zlo” and “Shugan-25,” which posted information about protests against the war in Ukraine, partisan actions, and animal rights activities. Initially, they were placed under a travel ban, but later their pretrial restrictions were toughened: the young man was then sent to a pretrial detention centre, and Lizunova was placed under house arrest. In April 2024, while she was still a tenth-grade student, she was sent to the detention centre after coming home two hours late.

You can support Lyubov Lizunova by sending her a letter through our service “Vestocha” or by regular post to the following address:

670000, Ulan-Ude, Pristanskaya Str., 4a
Federal State Institution Correctional Colony No. 7, Russian FSIN, Republic of Buryatia
For Lyubov Vitalyevna Lizunova, born 2006