Artyom Khoroshilov is a political prisoner
Physicist from Moscow sentenced to 21 years in prison on charges of a DDoS attack, preparing an act of sabotage and making transfers to Ukraine
Artyom Khoroshilov is a Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and a researcher at the General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In January 2023, Khoroshilov’s apartment was searched, but the FSB opened a criminal case only in December, after finding software for carrying out DDoS attacks on his computer. The scientist was arrested on charges of unlawfully interfering with critical information infrastructure (Article 274.1 of the Russian Criminal Code).
The investigation claims that Khoroshilov participated in a DDoS attack on the websites of the Russian Post in August 2022. He acknowledges downloading software for such attacks but says that he only ran it for testing purposes in May–June. An expert examination could not establish when the program had been run, and additional examinations requested by the defence were not conducted.
Khoroshilov was later charged with high treason (Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code), preparing an act of sabotage (Part 1 of Article 30 and Part 1 of Article 281 of the Russian Criminal Code), and preparing to manufacture explosives and an explosive device (Part 1 of Article 30 and Part 1 of Article 223.1 of the Russian Criminal Code).
The charge of preparing an act of sabotage is based on photographs of a railway near Khoroshilov’s home, his correspondence, and household chemicals, electronic components and instructions for making explosives found in his possession. At the same time, there is no evidence that he passed any information to anyone or attempted to manufacture an explosive device, and he did not have all the components necessary to do so.
The investigation treated the same actions as high treason and also considered transfers totalling almost 800,000 rubles to Ukrainian foundations and organisations to constitute high treason. Khoroshilov explained that he wanted to help Ukrainians, primarily his relatives in Kyiv, whose safety he had been worried about since the beginning of the war.
In December 2025, Khoroshilov was sentenced to 21 years in prison: the first five years in prison and the remainder in a maximum-security penal colony. He was also fined 700,000 rubles and sentenced to two years of restriction of liberty following his release.
We consider the charges of preparing an act of sabotage and manufacturing explosives unproven. Khoroshilov’s alleged participation in the DDoS attack on the Russian Post has also not been established. As for the transfers to Ukraine, we do not consider it a crime to provide assistance to a state defending itself against Russian aggression. Moreover, the investigation failed to prove that Khoroshilov made the transfers with the purpose of harming Russia’s security.
A detailed description of Khoroshilov’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Artyom Khoroshilov at the following address:
Ru:
600020, г. Владимир, ул. Большая Нижегородская, д. 67, ФКУ Т-2 УФСИН России по Владимирской области, Хорошилов Артём Леонидович, 1991 г. р.
En:
Artyom Leonidovich Khoroshilov, born 1991, Prison No. 2, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Vladimir Oblast, 67 Bolshaya Nizhegorodskaya Street, Vladimir, Vladimir Oblast, 600020, Russia.
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