Detentions, trials and pressure over anti-war statements and criticism of the war in Ukraine: Human rights news, court updates & analysis | 152 related articles

22.07.2025

12:34

Olga Eskova, a resident of Sochi, was sent to a psychiatric and neurological clinic after she attempted suicide while serving a detention term in a special detention centre. Her son reported this to OVD-Info.

The 51-year-old Eskova was detained on 10 July, and on 11 July the Central District Court of Sochi sentenced her to 15 days under the article on displaying forbidden symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code). The report was drawn up because of a comment the woman had left in the Telegram channel of the “I Want to Live” project: “There’s nothing to discuss here GLORY TO UKRAINE,” wrote the Sochi resident.

On 21 July, Eskova’s husband learned that she was in a psychiatric and neurological clinic. She had been hospitalised there after spending five days in the special detention centre, where she attempted suicide. He was not informed about what had happened.

It is unknown why Eskova tried to take her own life. Relatives believe she was subjected to pressure in the detention centre. Her husband was able to speak with her for only five minutes. He plans to meet with the clinic’s chief doctor soon to find out what happened to his wife and how long they intend to keep her there.

In addition, Eskova’s husband was not allowed to attend the court hearing in which her report was considered, nor was he told which detention facility she would be serving her sentence in. He later managed to find out where his wife was being held, but a visit was not permitted.

21.07.2025

16:33

Republic of Tatarstan

Vera Otryeshko, an activist from Kazan, was fined over a solo picket held on 24 February 2025 with a placard reading: “There is no path, we must turn back.” The court’s ruling was noticed by “Verstka.”

On 7 May, the Vakhitovsky District Court in Kazan found Otryeshko guilty of “discrediting the army accompanied by calls for unauthorised actions” (Article 20.3.3, Part 2 of the Administrative Code). The activist was fined 90,000 roubles (about US$960).

The ruling records that Otryeshko did not admit guilt and denied involvement in the offence in question.

The protocol against Otryeshko was drawn up on the basis of posts published on Telegram channels “Respublikasy” and “Activatica” on 24 February 2025, marking the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The first post featured a photo of a solo picket in Kazan, showing a person holding a placard reading: “There is no path, we must turn back.” In this phrase, the fragments “Пути н…” (“No path…”) and “сво” (“svo”) were highlighted in red—a visual allusion to “SVO” (the Russian abbreviation for “special military operation”). The picketer’s face was not visible in the photo. “Activatica” had a similar post, but specified that the picket took place near the “Kazan” Family Centre, and included hashtags such as #нетвойне (#nowar).

At the request of the police, staff at Kazan Federal University carried out a psychological and linguistic analysis of these posts. The authors of the analysis considered them to contain signs of discrediting the “goals of the SVO” and encouraging protest actions against the war.

The court’s decision did not state that Otryeshko herself had published these posts—only that she had carried out the solo picket.

13:26

Novosibirsk Oblast

The Central District Court of Novosibirsk fined Sergei Krupenko, a member of the Russian Communist Party (Internationalists), under the article on “discrediting the army” (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) for a speech at a May Day rally. This was reported to OVD-Info by lawyer Vasily Dubkov.

Krupenko was issued a fine of 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330).

The protocol against the communist was drawn up on 2 July. The grounds were a fragment of his speech at a legally authorised rally on 1 May, in which he spoke about fascism in Russia and the involvement of far-right groups in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Russian army:

“Essentially, what we’re witnessing today is exactly the kind of fascisation of the political regime that officials talk about from the podium—except they usually point elsewhere, to the West. ‘That’s where the fascists are, and here in Russia we have a bourgeois democracy.’ But we look around and see—who is their favourite philosopher, Ivan Ilyin, the ideologue of Russian fascism? Could it be our own president’s favourite? We look again and see—who is stirring up national hatred with state funding? Isn’t it that same ‘Ridovka,’ which isn’t just nationalist but truly Nazi? We look—who is fighting in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces? Could it be the so-called Russian fascists, including those with swastika tattoos?”

According to the case materials, the prosecutor’s office considered Krupenko’s mention of far-right involvement in the war in Ukraine on the Russian side to constitute discrediting the Russian army.

19.07.2025

19:00

This post previously contained information about politically motivated persecution. The person featured in the article has requested that their story be removed for security reasons. As a human rights project, we cannot ignore such requests, and are therefore deleting the text of this news item.

18.07.2025

15:28

The organisers cancelled rapper Jah Khalib’s performance at the “RMK Energy” festival on City Day in Yekaterinburg, a major city in the Urals, reports It’s my city.

Initially, the festival’s press release announced Lesha Svik, Mot, Jah Khalib, Gayazovs Brothers and Big Baby Tape, but a day later the organisers asked for the rapper’s name to be removed from the announcements.

In July, the rapper was supposed to give two concerts in Moscow, but the organisation “Voice of the People” and its chair Sergei Zaytsev complained about the posters, as Jah Khalib had “publicly expressed his love for Ukraine.” The concerts were cancelled. In 2023, Jah Khalib’s performances were also cancelled in St Petersburg and Moscow.

14:37

Irkutsk Oblast

Maria Makhmutova, a resident of Irkutsk (a major city in eastern Siberia), was fined 45,000 roubles (approx. US$500) under the article on “discrediting the army” (Part 1 Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code) after she insulted Russia Day and participants in the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the press service of the Kirovsky District Court of Irkutsk.

On 12 June, Makhmutova posted a video on her Instagram account, which has more than five thousand followers, criticising the Russia Day celebrations and condemning participants in the war in Ukraine:

“What kind of holiday is this, for fuck’s sake? What an awesome holiday—Russia Day. And what, are you fucking proud of something? What are you proud of, for fuck’s sake? That you’re living—scraping the bottom of the barrel? That you have to kill people to buy yourselves cars and flats, for fuck’s sake, and drink like it’s the last day on earth, and wear those fucking medals. Your medals today—they’re a mark for life, a stigma for life, that you’re fucking murderers. <…> If all the SVO [‘special military operation’] people die tomorrow, I’ll drink to that.”

After this, activists from the pro-government “Call of the People” movement reported her to the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General’s Office. On 13 June, law enforcement came to her flat. She refused to open the door and threatened to harm herself. In the end, emergency services workers forced the door and Makhmutova was detained. A protocol was then drawn up against her. She was jailed for 13 days under an administrative protocol for assault (Article 6.1.1 of the Administrative Offences Code), accused of kicking a police officer, and then for a further five days under a protocol for drug use (Part 1 Article 6.9 of the Administrative Offences Code) because of “Corvalol.”

After her administrative arrest ended, the blogger was sent to a pre-trial detention centre under criminal charges of insulting a government representative (Article 319 of the Criminal Code) and using violence against a government representative (Article 318 of the Criminal Code).

16.07.2025

13:03

On 26 June, the Leninsky District Court of Vladivostok fined local resident Yulia Prisekina, who has cerebral palsy, 18,000 roubles (US$200) for “discrediting the armed forces” (Article 20.3.3, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences). The court’s decision was published on its website and drew the attention of Verstka.

The protocol was drawn up against the woman because of a comment she posted in September 2024 in the Telegram channel chat “To Be Continued,” in response to another message.

“Nothing to worry about)) The Russian Federation’s rockets falling on children’s playgrounds and hospitals in Ukraine don’t seem to bother you))) Hypocrite)),” Prisekina wrote.

According to the ruling, police found the comment during a “covert operational-search measure called ‘Observation’ of the group open chat.” The linguistic examination was conducted by Nadezhda Oleshkevich, an associate professor at the Department of Philosophy and Legal Psychology at VVSU, who concluded that the woman’s words discredited the army.

Prisekina admitted guilt. She described her comment as “an attempt to express an unconventional opinion about current world events.” The Vladivostok resident explained that she has a Group III disability due to cerebral palsy and that she earns a salary of 20,000 roubles (US$220) from part-time work in a café.

15.07.2025

19:27

A resident of Tula Region has been fined 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) for anti-war graffiti on an asbestos pipe. This was reported by the regional Interior Ministry press service.

The 59-year-old man was found guilty under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the claim by the Telegram channel “Tula. ExtremiZm,” which is linked to law enforcement, the man had drawn the Ukrainian flag on the pipe and written the words “US ARMY” and “HIMARS.”

13.07.2025

14:40

On 9 July, the Ust-Yansky District Court in Yakutia fined local resident Danil Nevidomsky 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) for allegedly shouting the slogan “Glory to Ukraine.” SOTAproject drew attention to the court’s decision in a post.

He was found guilty under the article concerning the promotion of extremist organisation symbols (Part 1, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences). According to the court’s decision, Nevidomsky uttered the phrase while intoxicated during a conversation with others on the premises of a company dormitory.

The defendant denied any wrongdoing, saying that he did not shout the slogan and that his conversation with witnesses actually took place a kilometre away from the dormitory. In court he explained that during a conflict he had said that “they would be more useful if they were at the special military operation (SVO).” Nevidomsky believes that one of the witnesses falsely accused him due to personal animosity and “because of jealousy towards a woman from a neighbouring organisation.”

11.07.2025

17:03

Saint Petersburg

The Leninsky District Court of St Petersburg has fined LGBTQ priest Alexander Khmelev 30,000 roubles (approximately US$330) under the article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by the outlets “78” and “Bumaga.”

The reason for the administrative proceedings against Khmelev was a number of YouTube videos featuring him. The specific statements attributed to the priest were not disclosed.

Citing an unnamed source, the outlet “78” also reports that authorities are currently considering whether to open criminal and administrative cases against Khmelev “for the creation of an extremist community and promotion of LGBTQ ideology.”

As Khmelev told the LGBTQ publication “Parni+,” he served as an altar server in the Russian Orthodox Church from 2005 to 2012. He later joined the True Orthodox Church, where he was ordained as a priest. Eventually, he became a minister in the Association of Christian Eucharistic Communities and founded a community for LGBTQ Christians in St Petersburg.

In June 2025, the Ministry of Justice listed Khmelev in the register of “foreign agents.” According to the Ministry, the priest participated in creating and distributing materials from other “foreign agents” and “undesirable organisations,” and spread false information about decisions by Russian authorities.

On 12 July Alexander Khmelev left Russia. This was reported by lawyer Vladimir Vasilenko.

He stated that the priest left the country “after threats of persecution by law enforcement, voiced via anonymous Telegram channels.” Khmelev’s cat remains in Russia, and the lawyer is looking for a home for it.

Yesterday, several channels and outlets, including Mash na Moyke, the outlet “78,” and the law enforcement-affiliated resource “Operativnye Svodki”, published information that Khmelev may face several administrative and criminal cases. In particular, “for creating an extremist community and publicly promoting LGBTQ ideology.”

Сюжет

Detentions, trials and pressure over anti-war statements and criticism of the war in Ukraine