Eight people convicted under Russia’s ‘terrorism’ laws every working day in 2025, research finds

In 2025, 1,776 verdicts were handed down in cases under Articles 205 to 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code, with 2,078 individuals convicted — an average of eight people per working day. Both figures represent historic highs, more than double those of 2024, when 921 verdicts were handed down against 1,021 individuals. The figures come from a study by First Department and the Parubets Analytics project.

The Political Prisoners Memorial project added 929 individuals convicted on terrorism charges in 2025 to its database of people imprisoned in cases bearing clear signs of political motivation. This means that at least 44.7% of all those convicted on terrorism charges — almost half — are being prosecuted for political reasons. The true proportion may be higher.

‘This estimate is inherently conservative. Human rights defenders are unable to review all the available case materials, and courts, as has already been noted, routinely close hearings and conceal the names of defendants,’ the authors of the study explain. They note that two thirds of the names of those convicted in 2025 are hidden in public court databases.

The most commonly applied provision is Article 205.2, criminalising public incitement to terrorism and public justification of terrorism: of the 1,718 individuals charged under a single terrorism provision, 795 were convicted under this provision. The second most commonly applied provision was Article 205, which covers the commission of a terrorist act, under which 553 of those charged under a single terrorism provision were convicted. Both articles have featured in the top three most frequently used in political prosecutions since 2023.

First Department and Parubets Analytics were able to establish specific custodial sentences for 794 of those convicted on terrorism charges in 2025, a further 15 individuals are known to have been sentenced to life imprisonment. The most commonly imposed sentences under Articles 205 to 205.5 ranged from fifteen to nineteen years. The median sentence was fifteen years, calculated on the basis of cases involving no additional charges under other articles and defendants with no prior convictions.

At least 630 of those convicted on terrorism charges in 2025 — 30% — are Ukrainian nationals. The actual number of Ukrainians may be higher, given that information on many defendants is unavailable in open sources. Ukrainian prisoners of war and residents of occupied territories are most commonly tried on terrorism charges at the 2nd Western and Southern District Military Courts, which handed down the highest number of verdicts under Articles 205 to 205.5 in 2025 — 606 and 473 respectively. The 2nd Western District Military Court handed down verdicts against at least 357 Ukrainian servicemen captured in Kursk Oblast in 2025. The Southern District Military Court convicted at least 244 Ukrainian nationals on terrorism charges.

Of the 2,078 individuals convicted in 2025, the researchers were able to establish the gender of 929: 869 men and 60 women. The age of 855 individuals was also established. The youngest person convicted was 14 years old — a teenager from Tver Oblast charged with preparing to set fire to a military enlistment office. The oldest was Ivan Hanzii, a 78-year-old Ukrainian national who allegedly served in the Aidar battalion in 2014. The median age of those convicted on terrorism charges was 36.