Marat Gadzhiev is a political prisoner
A Sakhalin resident has been charged with collusion with a foreign state for making phone calls to Norwegian diplomatic offices
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Marat Gadzhiev a political prisoner. Gadzhiev is being prosecuted on a charge of ‘collusion with a foreign state in activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation,’ for making phone calls to the Norwegian consulate and embassy to discuss military aid to Ukraine. Marat Gadzhiev’s prosecution violates his right to a fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Marat Gadzhiev and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What are the charges against Marat Gadzhiev?
Marat Gadzhiev is a resident of the city of Okha in Sakhalin Oblast. According to the prosecution, on or after 12 February 2025 he made two phone calls, one to the Consulate General of Norway in St. Petersburg and a second to the embassy of the same state in Moscow. During the conversations, he allegedly expressed a desire to talk to the Norwegian military attaché about providing assistance in modernizing military equipment supplied by NATO countries to Ukraine.
On 24 June 2025 Gadzhiev was detained in St. Petersburg. He was charged with ‘collusion with a foreign state in activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation’ (Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
On 26 June 2025, Marat Gadzhiev was remanded in custody. He maintains his innocence of the charge.
Why do we consider Marat Gadzhiev a political prisoner?
The law criminalising ‘collusion’ was introduced into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in July 2022. It has since become yet one more instrument used by the Russian authorities against alleged ‘internal enemies.’ The provisions of this law do not comply with the principle of legal certainty. In essence, the law criminalizes any communication between Russian citizens and citizens of other states. It provides for punishment not for specific actions, but merely for an alleged intention to ‘facilitate’ some undefined ‘activity.’
The article of the Criminal Code on ‘collusion’ should be repealed, and all related criminal cases closed.
We believe that if Gadzhiev’s actions did in reality pose a threat to the public interest, and the investigative authorities had sufficient evidence of his guilt, he would have been charged with a different offence. The security forces use the law on ‘collusion’ to intimidate the public and to do away with the need to actually prove the guilt of the accused.
We believe that a rejection of Russian military aggression and a desire to help Ukraine are beneficial to society, and therefore cannot be grounds for criminal prosecution, let alone imprisonment.
A detailed description of Marat Gadzhiev’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Marat Gadzhiev at the following address:
RU:
693007, Сахалинская область, г. Южно-Сахалинск, проспект Мира, д. 193, ФКУ СИЗО-1 УФСИН России по Сахалинской области, Гаджиев Марат Асанбекович, 1971 г. р.
EN:
Marat Asanbekovich Gadzhiev (born 1971), Remand Prison No. 1, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Sakhalin Oblast, 193 Prospekt Mira, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Oblast, 693007, Russia.
You can also send emails via ZT (for payment with all bank cards) and Memorial-France (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
