Nikolai Elankin is a political prisoner
The Moscow resident has been jailed for administrative-law offences at least 11 times in a row, and then charged with ‘collusion’ with a foreign state
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international criteria, considers Nikolai Elankin a political prisoner. Elankin is being prosecuted on a charge of collusion with a foreign state or organisation for correspondence with unnamed individuals. Elankin’s criminal prosecution violates his right to a fair trial. We demand the release of Nikolai Elankin and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What were the charges against Nikolai Elankin?
On 20 December 2024, Nikolai Elankin, a Moscow resident with a Ukrainian residence permit, was jailed on an administrative-law charge of petty hooliganism. After that, various judges in different courts in Moscow and the Moscow region jailed him at least 11 times in a row — he was, most likely, in jail continuously for about six months. The charges were always the same: disobeying the lawful demands of police officers and petty hooliganism.
On 1 July, the Meshchansky district court in Moscow remanded Nikolai Elankin in custody on a criminal charge of collusion with a foreign state or foreign organisation (Article 275.1 of the Russian Criminal Code). It is not known what exactly served as the basis for initiating the criminal case.
Why do we consider Nikolai Elankin a political prisoner?
The law criminalising ‘collusion’ was introduced into the Russian Criminal Code in July 2022. It has become yet another tool in the regime’s fight against ‘internal enemies.’ The law’s provisions do not comply with the principle of legal certainty. In essence, this law criminalises any communication with foreigners. 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 The article of the Criminal Code on ‘collusion’ should be rescinded, and all related criminal cases closed.
While we do not know the grounds for Elankin’s prosecution, if his actions had posed a real threat to the state or society, he would have been charged with a different offence. Prosecution for ‘collusion’ with foreigners indicates his actions posed no real threat of any kind.
When an individual is subjected to a series of jail terms for administrative-law offences prior to a criminal prosecution, as in Elankin’s case, this almost always indicates that the prosecution is politically motivated. The security forces use these short jail terms to gain time to fabricate a criminal case. In this case, Elankin spent a record amount of time in jail on administrative-law charges.
A detailed description of Nikolai Elankin’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?
If you have information about the location of the remand prison in which Nikolai Elankin is being held, please let us know via our Telegram bot or by email: [email protected]
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