Pavel Guguev is a political prisoner
Guguev left the penal colony where he was serving a sentence to join the Russian army, was captured, and gave an interview to Ukrainian journalists. Now he has been charged with ‘collusion’ with foreigners
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Pavel Guguev a political prisoner. Guguev has been charged with ‘collusion’ with foreigners for giving an interview to a Ukrainian journalist. Guguev’s criminal prosecution violates his rights to freedom of speech and fair trial. We demand his immediate release and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What are the charges against Guguev?
In May 2023, recruitment officers from the Russian Ministry of Defence arrived at the penal colony where Pavel Guguev was serving a 12-year sentence for murder and theft. Guguev signed a contract to join the army and, ten days later, was sent to fight in the war against Ukraine.
As he later described, of the 240 prisoners who ended up on the section of the front where he served, in the first days, about 180 were wounded or killed. Guguev himself was captured by Ukrainian forces. At the end of May 2023, Ukrainian journalists published an interview with Guguev in which he spoke about how he had been recruited and how he ended up in captivity. In the interview, Guguev criticised Russia’s military and political leadership.
Two weeks later, Pavel Guguev returned to Russia in a prisoner exchange. He ended up in hospital, hoping for a discharge from the army, as he is HIV-positive and in need of treatment. It is unclear what his fate might have been, but at the end of July 2023, he called the same Ukrainian journalist from the hospital and gave a second interview. In the call, Guguev spoke about what had happened to him since the exchange and declared that he had no intention of returning to the war: ‘How can I go back and kill you after you saved my life? Let them swap me here, shoot me to pieces – I won’t go anywhere, I’ll simply refuse to go.’
A third conversation with Guguev, in which he mentioned he might be convicted ‘for telling the truth,’ appeared online in early August 2023 after he had stopped responding to further contact.
Videos featuring Guguev had around six million views in total.
Information about Guguev’s fate emerged only several months later. On 15 December 2023, a court in Moscow remanded him in custody on charges of ‘collusion’ with foreigners (Article 275.1 of the Russian Criminal Code). He faces up to eight years’ imprisonment if convicted.
Why do we consider Guguev a political prisoner?
The offence of ‘collusion’ was introduced into the Russian Criminal Code in July 2022 and has become yet another tool in the fight against ‘internal enemies.’ The provisions of this law do not meet the principle of legal certainty: in effect, it criminalises any communication between Russian citizens and foreigners. The law on ‘collusion’ should be rescinded, and all criminal cases brought under it closed.
Guguev gave three interviews to a Ukrainian journalist, knowing that they would be published. Such interaction cannot be considered ‘collusion.’ Furthermore, under the terms of the law, the collusion must also be ‘deliberately aimed against the security of the Russian Federation.’ However, Guguev did nothing more than talk openly about his experiences at the front, the losses suffered by Russian forces, the military leadership’s attitude toward former prisoners, and other matters of social importance. The dissemination of this information was not aimed at undermining the security of the Russian Federation, let alone being ‘deliberately aimed’ at doing so.
A detailed description of Pavel Guguev’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 send a letter to Pavel Guguev at the following address:
In Russian:
111020, г. Москва, ул. Лефортовский вал, д. 5, ФКУ СИЗО-2 ФСИН России, Гугуеву Павлу Александровичу, 1980 г. р.
In English:
Pavel Aleksandrovich Guguev (born 1980), Remand Prison No. 2 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, 5 Lefortovsky Val, Moscow 111020, 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.
