Artyom Basyrov is a political prisoner
A resident of Kemerovo was sentenced to 12 years and 3 months as a result of provocations: he allegedly wanted to join the Freedom of Russia Legion and spoke about it while in pre-trial detention
Artyom Basyrov studied at a technical college in Kemerovo. He held nationalist views and, in April 2022, began corresponding on Telegram with someone claiming to be a representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion. In reality, he was most likely communicating with an FSB provocateur.
Basyrov considered joining the Legion but ultimately did not fill out the application form he was sent. After obtaining a foreign passport, he took no further steps. Rather than waiting to see whether Basyrov would actually attempt to leave the country, the security services decided to detain him and seize his electronic devices containing the correspondence.
In early May, the student was questioned, but investigators failed to obtain the hard drive from his computer. They apparently concluded that there was insufficient evidence for an arrest. Nevertheless, about two months later a criminal case was opened, and another month later, in August 2022, Basyrov was placed in pre-trial detention. Throughout this period, he remained under surveillance while investigators sought additional evidence against him.
On December 12, 2022, the court found Artyom Basyrov guilty of preparation to participate, on the territory of a foreign state, in an illegal armed formation not provided for by that state’s legislation and acting for purposes contrary to the interests of the Russian Federation (Part 1 of Article 30 and Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code). He was sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment.
The verdict against Basyrov later became one of the cases used to justify the decision to designate the Freedom of Russia Legion as a terrorist organization. That decision, in turn, made it possible to bring a new criminal case against him.
The second case stemmed from a conversation Basyrov had with two fellow inmates in March 2024. They turned out to be participants in another provocation and later testified in court as anonymous witnesses. The conversation itself was recorded.
During the conversation, Basyrov allegedly spoke positively about the Legion. Investigators and the court interpreted his statements not only as justification of terrorism (Part 1 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code), as is often the case in similar situations, but also as participation in the activities of a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5) and involvement of others in terrorist activity (Part 1.1 of Article 205.1). At the same time, the prosecution did not claim that Basyrov had stated he was a member of the Legion; the mere fact of the conversation was treated as evidence of his membership.
On August 6, 2025, the court sentenced Basyrov in the second case to 12 years of imprisonment. After adding the unserved portion of his sentence from the first conviction, the final punishment was set at 12 years and 3 months in a special-regime penal colony.
A detailed description of Artyom Basyrov’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Artyom Basyrov at the following address:
Ru:
457670, Челябинская область, г. Верхнеуральск, ул. Северная, д. 1, ФКУ Т ГУФСИН России по Челябинской области, Басыров Артём Артурович, 2001 г. р.
En:
Prison of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Chelyabinsk Oblast, 1 Severnaya Street, Verkhneuralsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, 457670, Russia, Basyrov Artyom Arturovich, born 2001.
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Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.
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