Dmitry Lyalyaev is a political prisoner
A singer-songwriter from Saratov has been sentenced to twenty-six months in a low-security penal colony for spreading ‘fake news’ about the army, making calls to engage in extremism and displaying prohibited symbols
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Dmitry Lyalyaev a political prisoner. Lyalyaev has been convicted on charges of displaying prohibited symbols, making calls to engage in extremism, and spreading ‘fake news’ about the Russian armed forces. Lyalyaev’s prosecution and conviction violate his right to a fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Dmitry Lyalyaev and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What were the charges against Dmitry Lyalyaev?
Dmitry Lyalyaev is a poet and singer-songwriter who, in recent years, worked as a night guard at a hospital. In his poems and other texts published on his personal page on the VK social media site, Lyalyaev actively opposed the policies of the Russian authorities, particularly the war against Ukraine.
In the autumn of 2022, Lyalyaev was fined four times for administrative-law offences, including for displaying prohibited symbols. The grounds for these fines were caricatures of Putin (one depicting him as Hitler, the other with prison tattoos) and an anti-war post.
Soon afterwards, criminal charges were brought against Lyalyaev for repeated display of prohibited symbols (Article 282.4, Part 1, of the Russian Criminal Code) and making online calls to engage in extremism (Article 280, Part 2). Later, he was also charged with spreading information known to be false about the Russian army (Article 207.3, Part 1).
On 11 September 2023, Lyalyaev was convicted on the first two charges and sentenced to two years in a low-security penal colony. On 20 November 2023, he was convicted on the third and final charge. In sum, he was sentenced to 26 months in a low-security penal colony.
Why do we consider Lyalyaev a political prisoner?
The reasons for the criminal charges against Lyalyaev are not known in detail. However, it is most likely that his prosecution is linked to online posts he made criticising Putin and the war against Ukraine.
The law that penalises ‘spreading information known to be false about the actions of the Russian army’ contradicts both the Russian Constitution and fundamental principles of law. It serves as a tool for political repression against critics of the war. It should be rescinded and all criminal cases under it closed.
We have analysed Lyalyaev’s available publications and concluded that the charge of making calls to engage in extremism is also politically motivated. Lyalyaev’s texts are very restrained in form: the ones that do contain calls to engage in any actions are purely rhetorical in nature.
The administrative-law charges brought against Lyalyaev for displaying prohibited symbols, which led to the criminal case for repeated display of extremist symbols, were also politically motivated. In our view, Lyalyaev posted the images in question to criticise the authorities, not to propagate prohibited symbols.
At the same time, even if we assume that Lyalyaev’s publications posed a real danger of some kind to society, it is clear their impact was so limited that they should not have led to criminal prosecution, let alone imprisonment.
A more detailed description of Dmitry Lyalyaev’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 Dmitry Lyalyaev at the following address:
In Russian: 412817, Саратовская область, Красноармейский район, с. Усть-Золиха, Заречная, 4, ФКУ КП-11 УФСИН России по Саратовской области, Ляляеву Дмитрию Владимировичу 1965 г. р.
In English: Dmitry Vladimirovich Lyalyaev (born 1965), Penal Settlement No. 11, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Saratov Oblast, 4 Zarechnaya, Ust-Zolikha village, Krasnoarmeysky district, Saratov Oblast, 412817, Russia.
You can also send an e-mail via ZT (for payments with Russian cards), OVD-Info and Memorial-France (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the recipient.
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
