Sergei Salazkin, Yaroslav Bykov and Yegor Gulyaev are political prisoners
Three individuals from Orenburg, Moscow and St Petersburg are being prosecuted under the law on ‘fake news’ about the Russian army
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Sergei Salazkin, Yaroslav Bykov and Yegor Gulyaev political prisoners. The three men are being prosecuted on charges of ‘intentional dissemination of information known to be false about the Russian army’ for posts on social media. The criminal prosecutions of Salazkin, Gulyaev and Bykov violate their rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial. We demand the release of Sergei Salazkin, Yaroslav Bykov and Yegor Gulyaev and an end to their criminal prosecution.
What are the charges against Sergei Salazkin, Yaroslav Bykov and Yegor Gulyaev?
On 16 May 2024, security forces searched the home of Sergei Salazkin, a lawyer in Orenburg, and seized his electronic devices. He was released but later charged with intentional dissemination of information known to be false about the Russian army (Article 207.3, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The grounds for the charge were reposts of BBC news reports about missile strikes on Kramatorsk and Chernihiv that Salazkin had made on the Odnoklassniki social media site. On 28 April 2025, Salazkin was sentenced to 18 months in a low-security penal colony.
Since 2 October 2025, Yaroslav Bykov, a translator and courier who lives in Moscow, has been jailed three times for 15 day-terms for administrative-law offences: twice for displaying ‘extremist symbols’ (a white-blue-white flag) and a third time for ‘petty hooliganism’ near a detention centre. On 18 December 2025, Bykov was arrested on a criminal charge of disseminating ‘fake news’ about the Russian army motivated by political hatred (Article 207.3, Part 2 [e], CC RF). He was remanded in custody even though he suffers from several serious illnesses, including cancer, epilepsy, hypertension and pyelonephritis. On 15 June 2026, Yarolav Bykov was sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony.
Yegor Gulyaev from St Petersburg was remanded in custody on 7 November 2025, also on a charge of disseminating ‘fake news’ about the Russian army motivated by political hatred. In a video released by the security forces, a SOBR special forces unit broke into Gulyaev’s home and forcibly detained him. Gulyaev faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment if convicted.
Why do we consider Sergei Salazkin, Yaroslav Bykov and Yegor Gulyaev political prisoners?
Sergei Salazkin was convicted for posts about Russian strikes on Kramatorsk and Chernihiv, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians. These facts are corroborated by eyewitness accounts, photographs and video footage, as well as international investigations.
According to the court’s verdict against Salazkin, he should have known that the Russian armed forces attack exclusively military targets, and never civilians, based on ‘the content of the Russian President’s address to the Russian people on 24 February 2022.’ Criminal prosecution for disseminating information about war crimes, as well as justifying their alleged ‘inaccuracy’ by citing statements by Putin, is outrageous and unacceptable.
We do not know what texts Yaroslav Bykov and Yegor Gulyaev stand accused of posting, nor what the investigative authorities deemed to constitute ‘political hatred’ in their posts. However, the very fact of prosecution for the unlawful offence of ‘disseminating fake news about the army’ speaks to the fact that it is unlawful. You can read more about our position on such prosecutions here.
Detailed descriptions of the prosecutions of Sergei Salazkin, Yaroslav Bykov and Yegor Gulyayev are available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Sergei Salazkin and Yaroslav Bykov at the following addresses:
RU:
Российская Федерация, 461543, Оренбургская область, п. Чашкан, ул. Южная, д. 4, ФКУ КП-12 УФСИН России по Оренбургской области, Салазкин Сергей Вячеславович, 1968 г. p.
EN:
Sergei Vyacheslavovich Salazkin (born 1968), Low Security Penal Colony No. 12, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Orenburg Oblast, 4 Yuzhnaya Street, Chashkan, Orenburg Oblast, 461543, Russia.
RU:
Российская Федерация, 125130, г. Москва, ул. Выборгская, д. 20, ФКУ СИЗО-5 ГУФСИН России по г. Москве, Быков Ярослав Олегович, 1990 г. р.
EN:
Yaroslav Olegovich Bykov (born 1990), Remand Prison No. 5, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the city of Moscow, 20 Vybirgskaya Street, Moscow, 125130, Russia.
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If you have information about the remand prison Yegor Gulyaev is being held in, please let us know by email at [email protected].
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