Aleksandr Germizin is a political prisoner
An activist from Vladimir has been sentenced to two years in a penal colony for two comments on Telegram
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Aleksandr Germizin a political prisoner. Germizin was convicted of ‘making public calls to engage in terrorist activity’ for comments in a Telegram chat in which he ‘called for government buildings to be blown up.’ Germizin’s prosecution and conviction violated his rights to freedom of expression and fair trial. We demand that Germizin be released immediately and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
Who is Aleksandr Germizin and what were the charges against him?
Aleksandr Germizin is a resident of Vladimir, a factory worker, and secretary of the congress of the Vladimir regional branch of the Rassvet (Dawn) political party led by Yekaterina Duntsova.
On 9 October 2024, Germizin was detained on charges of making ‘terrorist posts’ two years previously. His home and those of two other Vladimir activists were searched. The next day, Germizin was remanded in custody on a charge of ‘making public calls to engage in terrorist activity’ (under Article 205.2, Part 2, of the Russian Criminal Code).
According to the investigative authorities, in October 2022 Germizin published two messages in Telegram chats, allegedly aimed at ‘inciting an unlimited number of persons to carry out terrorist activities,’ including ‘organising the blowing up of government buildings.’
On 5 February 2025, Aleksandr Germizin was sentenced to two years in a general regime penal colony.
Why do we consider Aleksandr Germizin a political prisoner?
We consider that the criminal prosecution of Aleksandr Germizin was a form of retribution for his civic and political activism.
The law on justifying and promoting terrorism and making calls to engage in terrorism is often used by the authorities to unlawfully prosecute civic activists and intimidate society as a whole. At the same time, the investigative authorities and the courts make no effort to actually assess the likelihood of dangerous public consequences of the imputed acts, even though in law they are obliged to do so. We believe Germizin’s comments, which had been online for two years, were unlikely to have had any serious consequences. There is no evidence that he influenced a large number of readers or that his statements were publicly discussed. The security forces only took an interest in Germizin and his comments after he began organising a regional branch of the Rassvet (Dawn) party in Vladimir Oblast.
We do not know exactly the nature of the comments for which Germizin was convicted, but they likely referred to the arson attacks on military enlistment offices. At the same time, the great majority of these arson attacks were not acts of terrorism. The arsonists had no intention to intimidate the public, which is a necessary feature of this crime. Such actions, in our view, should be classified as intentional destruction of, or damage to, property. None of those who committed these acts of arson reported that they were acting under the influence of Germizin’s comments on the Internet.
A detailed description of Aleksandr Germizin’s case and of our position is available on our website.
Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with, or approves, their views, statements, or actions.
How can you help?
You can write to Aleksandr Germizin at the following address:
RU: 600021, Владимирская область, г. Владимир, ул. 9 Января, д. 5А, ФКУ СИЗО-1 УФСИН России по Владимирской области, Гермизин Александр Евгеньевич, 1977 г. р.
EN: Aleksandr Evgenyevich Germizin (born 1977), Remand Centre No. 1, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Vladimir Oblast, 5A Ulitsa 9 Yanvarya, Vladimir, 600021, Russia.
You can also send an email using ZT (for payment with all bank cards), Vestochka 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.
