Konstantin Bernatov is a political prisoner
A resident of Stavropol Krai has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for making donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Konstantin Bernatov a political prisoner. Bernatov was convicted of financing extremist activities for alleged donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation. The prosecution and conviction of Konstantin Bernatov violated his rights to freedom of association and a fair trial. We demand the release of Konstantin Bernatov and that all convictions for financing the Anti-Corruption Foundation be quashed and ongoing prosecutions dropped.
What were the charges against Konstantin Bernatov?
On 4 August 2021, a ruling by Moscow City Court designating the Anti-Corruption Foundation and other organisations linked to Aleksei Navalny as extremist came into force. The following day, Navalny’s team appealed to supporters for backing and launched an anonymous fundraising campaign via the Stripe service.
A year later, the first criminal cases relating to donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation became known. According to our data, charges for financing extremism (Article 282.3, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) have been brought against at least 142 people. Information about new defendants in such cases is constantly emerging.
The criminal prosecution of Konstantin Bernatov from Stavropol Krai only came to light after he had been convicted. On 13 January 2026, a court in Budyonnovsk sentenced him to three years in a general regime penal colony. We do not know how much he allegedly donated to the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Bernatov has appealed the verdict.
Meanwhile, in Kaliningrad, where at least three people have already been sentenced to terms of imprisonment for donating to the Anti-Corruption Foundation and another person currently awaiting a verdict is under house arrest, a new prisoner has appeared. According to the court’s press service, this individual, whose name has not been disclosed, was sentenced to three years in a general regime prison for transferring 500 roubles to the Anti-Corruption Foundation. We also consider this person a political prisoner — just like everyone else deprived of their liberty solely on this charge.
Furthermore, Defence Ministry Colonel Yury Zakharenko is currently under house arrest in Moscow, charged with sabotaging a state defence contract (Article 285.4 CC RF) and financing the Anti-Corruption Foundation. While we have not examined Zakharenko’s case with regard to the charge of sabotaging the defence contract and do not consider him a political prisoner, his prosecution with regard to financing the Anti-Corruption Foundation is unfounded.
Why do we consider Bernatov a political prisoner?
The decisions by Moscow City Court designating the Anti-Corruption Foundation and Navalny’s campaign offices as extremist organisations are politically motivated and unlawful.
Firstly, no evidence of extremist activity by these organisations was presented. Politically motivated prosecutions under administrative or criminal law of individual staff members do not constitute such evidence.
Secondly, regular state inspections of the organisations in question failed to reveal any extremism in their work, although the court attached the results of these inspections to the case file as evidence of extremist activity.
Bernatov’s criminal prosecution, based on the unlawful decision by Moscow City Court, is therefore politically motivated and unlawful.
The sum Bernatov donated to the Anti-Corruption Foundation is not known. However, such donations are usually very small, ranging from 100 to several thousand roubles. While funding the Anti-Corruption Foundation is not a crime, the disproportionate nature of the penalties handed down in such cases should also be noted. A man from Kaliningrad was sentenced to three years in a penal colony for a single transfer of 500 roubles; Zakharenko, a Muscovite, is accused of having made seven transfers of 1,000 roubles each.
A detailed description of the case of Konstantin Bernatov and of our position is available on our website.
We have previously published a report on all prosecutions related to Navalny’s organisations designated as extremist.
How can you help?
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
