Vasily Zharkov is a political prisoner
A company manager from Moscow Oblast has been sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment on charges of preparing sabotage, filming military facilities and having ties to the Free Russia Legion
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international criteria, considers Vasily Zharkov a political prisoner. Zharkov was convicted on charges of treason, participation in a terrorist organisation, and preparing sabotage on the grounds that he corresponded with Ukrainians, filmed civilian objects in a military town, and was seen near a cell phone tower. Zharkov’s prosecution and conviction violated his right to a fair trial. We demand that Vasily Zharkov be immediately released and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What were the charges against Vasily Zharkov?
Vasily Zharkov is a resident of the town of Ozyory outside Moscow, where he worked as a manager in a trading company. On 11 November 2023, he was detained in a military town near a military unit in Moscow Oblast, where he was taking photographs.
Zharkov was accused of joining the Free Russia Legion and corresponding with its representatives, from whom he received assignments to gather information (it was for this purpose that he allegedly took photographs in the military town) as well as to prepare acts of sabotage. According to the prosecution, Zharkov had planned to set fire to a mobile phone tower. Zharkov was charged with preparing to commit sabotage (Article 30, Part 1, of the Russian Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 281), treason in the form of espionage (Article 275) and participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation (Article 205.5, Part 2).
On 16 December 2024, Zharkov was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment, with the first three years to be served in a cell-type prison and the remainder in a strict regime penal colony with one year’s probation after release.
Why do we consider Vasily Zharkov a political prisoner?
Zharkov did not deny that he visited the website of the Free Russia Legion, but there was no evidence that he filled out any documents there. The investigative authorities, without any evidence, claimed two Ukrainians with whom Zharkov was in contact (Zharkov said they were simply his acquaintances) were simultaneously officers of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate and soldiers serving in the Free Russia Legion.
However, even if Zharkov had tried to join the Free Russia Legion, this would not constitute a crime. We consider the designation of this official unit of the Ukrainian army as a terrorist organisation by a Russian court to be unlawful.
As for the charge of preparing sabotage, Zharkov claimed that on 4 November 2023, he photographed a communications tower and planned to set it on fire, but then decided not to do so. The investigative authorities failed to convincingly prove Zharkov had abandoned the idea of arson solely because he saw police officers nearby. Furthermore, we doubt that setting fire to one of the many communication towers in the country could have caused real damage to the security of the Russian Federation and, therefore, could be classified as sabotage.
The charge of treason is also unfounded. According to maps of the area, the structures Zharkov photographed were not military facilities, but civilian buildings in a military town. These buildings are not classified facilities, which means that even the theoretical possibility of their destruction could hardly have harmed the security of the Russian Federation as a whole.
The only real actions Zharkov committed were taking photographs in a military town. We believe that the public danger of his actions is in no way commensurate with the severity of the sentence. In addition, it should be considered that Zharkov was trying to counter Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
A detailed description of Vasily Zharkov’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 Vasily Zharkov at the following address:
RU:
399770, Россия, Липецкая область, г. Елец, ул. Пролетарская, д. 1Б ФКУ Т-2 УФСИН России по Липецкой области, Жаркову Василию Анатольевичу 2000 г. р.
EN:
Vasily Anatolyevich Zharkov (born 2000), Prison ‘T 2’, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Lipetsk Oblast, 1B Proletarskaya Ulitsa, Yelets, Lipetsk Oblast, 399770, Russia
You can also send emails via the ZT service (for payment with all bank cards), Memorial-France and OVD-Info (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.
