All assessments of the criminal prosecution of specific individuals, including the designation of detained persons as political prisoners, reflect the position of our Project. Such assessments are not based on the views and assessments of the individuals being prosecuted, their families, friends or lawyers, and do not imply their consent or approval. The information regarding the facts of specific criminal cases published on our Project’s website has been obtained from public sources and does not imply or require the consent of the individuals mentioned therein or their representatives.

Political prisoners support.
Memorial

After the illegal and unjustified liquidation of the Memorial Human Rights Center, with the consent of its Council, our team continues the work of the Memorial Human Rights Center Support Program for Political Prisoners as an independent human rights project

News

All news
  • 11 Nov, 2026

    Petro Romaniuk is a political prisoner

    A native of Ukraine from Karelia was sentenced to 15 years in a maximum-security penal colony under a terrorism charge after being accused of attempting to set fire to a military enlistment office

  • 10 Nov, 2026

    Kharkiv teacher Oleksandra Kazarovytska died in Vladikavkaz, not in occupied Crimea

    The body of Oleksandra Kazarovytska was found in a private residence in Vladikavkaz, not in occupied Crimea.

  • 09 Nov, 2026

    Three years over an old comment about the Crimean Bridge and 12 for transferring money to the Ukrainian army

    Read our overview of these and other cases of political prisoners we have recognised last week


  • 08 Nov, 2026

    Database of the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project

    At least 5,846 people in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories have been deprived of liberty with signs of political motivation

  • 06 Nov, 2026

    Resident of occupied Molochansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast sentenced to 15 years over social media posts

    Viacheslav Nykyforenko, a resident of occupied Molochansk in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment over 13 social media posts.

  • 05 Nov, 2026

    Kharkiv teacher dies after inprisonment in occupied Crimea

    Oleksandra Kazarovytska (Kolesnikova), co-founder of the Professional language school in Kharkiv, has died in a remand prison in occupied Sevastopol.

  • Mediazona 05 Nov, 2026

    Russia turns on its scientists. Donations to Alexei Navalny’s foundation are landing researchers in prison

    Russian scientists and university lecturers are increasingly being prosecuted for “financing extremism” over small donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation.

  • Mediazona 05 Nov, 2026

    Unlikely plot. A tortured Ukrainian and two Russian war criminals face charges over an alleged Rostov prison mutiny aimed to end the war

    Four vastly different cellmates are on trial: a Ukrainian civilian severely tortured by the FSB, a minor drug offender, and two Russian contract soldiers serving life sentences for massacring a family of nine in occupied Ukraine.

  • Mediazona 05 Nov, 2026

    Cast and cane behind bars. Moscow judge questions how political Alexander Kynev broke his leg during arrest, then leaves him in custody

    The Moscow City Court has rejected an appeal against the arrest of political scientist Alexander Kynev, who faces large-scale drug distribution charges.

  • 10 Nov, 2026

    Kharkiv teacher Oleksandra Kazarovytska died in Vladikavkaz, not in occupied Crimea

    The body of Oleksandra Kazarovytska was found in a private residence in Vladikavkaz, not in occupied Crimea.

  • 08 Nov, 2026

    Database of the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project

    At least 5,846 people in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories have been deprived of liberty with signs of political motivation

  • 06 Nov, 2026

    Resident of occupied Molochansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast sentenced to 15 years over social media posts

    Viacheslav Nykyforenko, a resident of occupied Molochansk in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment over 13 social media posts.

  • 05 Nov, 2026

    Kharkiv teacher dies after inprisonment in occupied Crimea

    Oleksandra Kazarovytska (Kolesnikova), co-founder of the Professional language school in Kharkiv, has died in a remand prison in occupied Sevastopol.

  • Mediazona 05 Nov, 2026

    Russia turns on its scientists. Donations to Alexei Navalny’s foundation are landing researchers in prison

    Russian scientists and university lecturers are increasingly being prosecuted for “financing extremism” over small donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation.

  • 03 Nov, 2026

    Irkutsk human rights defender remanded in custody

    Viktor Grigorov, a lawyer from Irkutsk accused of using violence against investigators, has been detained and remanded in custody.

  • 02 Nov, 2026

    Russian security forces detain husband of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant worker sentenced to 14 and a half years

    Russian security forces have detained Oleksii Shulha in occupied Enerhodar. His wife, Nataliia Shulha, was sentenced to 14 and a half years in a penal colony in 2025.

  • 29 Oct, 2026

    We can’t tell you their stories, but we can still help them

    We at Political Prisoners Memorial have received requests for help for political prisoners in Russia totalling €12,300.
  • 29 Oct, 2026

    Seriously ill Crimean Muslim released from penal colony

    Tofik Abdulgaziev, a Crimean Muslim, was released from a penal colony on health grounds on 26 October.

  • Mediazona 05 Nov, 2026

    Unlikely plot. A tortured Ukrainian and two Russian war criminals face charges over an alleged Rostov prison mutiny aimed to end the war

    Four vastly different cellmates are on trial: a Ukrainian civilian severely tortured by the FSB, a minor drug offender, and two Russian contract soldiers serving life sentences for massacring a family of nine in occupied Ukraine.

  • Mediazona 05 Nov, 2026

    Cast and cane behind bars. Moscow judge questions how political Alexander Kynev broke his leg during arrest, then leaves him in custody

    The Moscow City Court has rejected an appeal against the arrest of political scientist Alexander Kynev, who faces large-scale drug distribution charges.

  • Meduza 21 Oct, 2026

    Who is Stephen Hubbard, the American Putin just freed?

    Vladimir Putin has released U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had been convicted by a Russian court on mercenary charges

  • Meduza 21 Oct, 2026

    Russia’s FSB says it detained German citizen who fought for Ukraine

    Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Russian law enforcement authorities detained a German citizen who allegedly signed a contract with the Ukrainian army and deserted.

  • Meduza 20 Oct, 2026

    Russian scientists and university staff face mounting prosecutions over years-old donations to Navalny’s anti-corruption group. More than 10 cases reached Moscow courts in six months.

    Scientists and university faculty in Russia are increasingly facing prosecution for financing “extremism” through donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Mediazona reported.

  • Mediazona 19 Oct, 2026

    “Bones covered by skin”. Russia jails Ukrainian pensioner with dementia for 12.5 years over a donation to Ukraine’s army; in prison, she can’t feed herself

    In July 2025, Russian soldiers took 68-year-old Halyna Bekhter from her home in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. She was soon convicted of treason: according to investigators, she had transferred money to the Ukrainian army.

  • Meduza 16 Oct, 2026

    Russian mathematician Semyon Krasotkin charged with treason over $26 in paid Telegram reactions to Ukrainian and opposition channels

    Semyon Krasotkin, a 27-year-old mathematician and journalist from Moscow, has been jailed on treason charges, the news outlet Vot Tak reported.

  • Mediazona 16 Oct, 2026

    From twenty‑five to life. Four Ukrainians sentenced by Russia over a series of attacks on collaborators in occupied Melitopol

    The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has handed down sentences to four defendants in a case involving a series of explosions in occupied Melitopol.

  • Meduza 15 Oct, 2026

    Japan denies spying in Russia, says it can’t contact detained journalist

    Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japanese authorities do not engage in espionage in Russia, responding to the detention of Hokkaido Shimbun correspondent Yuki Imai in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Those imprisoned for their anti-war stance

Those imprisoned for their anti-war stance

Persecuted in connection with Hizb ut-Tahrir cases

Persecuted in connection with Hizb ut-Tahrir cases

Persecuted Jehovah's Witnesses

Persecuted Jehovah's Witnesses

Political prisoners

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Василий Чих
Chykh
Vasyl Vasylovych
Александр Скуратовский
Skuratovskyi
Oleksandr Hryhorovych
Илфат Галимов
Galimov
Ilfat Miratovich
Владимир Букин
Bukin
Vladimir Valerievich
Сергей Фомов
Fomov
Sergei Vasilievich
Политзаключенный Владимир Кульбацкий. Поддержка политзеков. Мемориал
Kulbatskyi
Volodymyr Viktorovych
Nikolaev
Roman Vladimirovich
Радик Хайрутдинов
Khairutdinov
Radik Islamovich
Klikunov
Sergei Aleksandrovich
Nosenko
Dmytro Fedorovych
Борис Будалов
Budalov
Boris Gennadyevich
Игорь Муляр
Muliar
Ihor Mykhailovych
Михаил Веселов
Veselov
Mikhail Nikolaevich
Siddikov
Sardorbek Abdulkhamidovich
View all