Vakhtangi Rogava is a political prisoner
A St Petersburg actor has been sentenced to three years and six months in a penal colony on a charge of justifying terrorism for a comment on Telegram
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Vakhtangi Rogava a political prisoner. Rogava was convicted on a criminal charge of public justification of terrorism for an online comment in which he allegedly expressed support for the Russian Volunteer Corps. Rogava’s criminal prosecution and conviction violated his rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Vakhtangi Rogava and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What were the charges against Vakhtangi Rogava?
Vakhtangi Rogava, an actor and advertising manager, was detained on 25 March 2025 at his home in St Petersburg. He was remanded in custody on a charge of publicly justifying terrorism (Article 205.2, Part 2, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) for an anonymous comment on a small Telegram channel: ‘What on earth are you all on about? Why aren’t you laughing out loud? […] Those Russians are no longer around; there are only a few left, among whom a small percentage of decent people, such as the Russian Volunteer Corps, have miraculously survived.’ The investigative authorities claimed that in this way Rogava ‘deliberately sought to spread terrorist ideology.’
After his detention, Rogava was twice prosecuted on administrative-law charges for inciting hatred for memes the court deemed humiliating to Russia and its patriots. In these cases, Rogava was sentenced to a total of 60 hours of compulsory unpaid work in his free time.
On 23 July 2025, a military court sentenced Vakhtangi Rogava to three and a half years in a general regime penal colony.
Why do we consider Vakhtangi Rogava a political prisoner?
The Russian Volunteer Corps is a unit of the Ukrainian armed forces involved in defending that country against Russian aggression. Its designation as a ‘terrorist organisation’ is based on a court ruling lacking in transparency, the text of which the authorities have not published. Such a ruling contravenes both Russian law and international norms. Military units of parties to a conflict cannot be classified as terrorist organisations. Therefore, comments in support of the Russian Volunteer Corps cannot be considered an endorsement of terrorism.
Rogava’s comment contained no calls for violence. Very few people could have read it, and therefore it could not have had consequences dangerous to the public. Rogava expressed his personal opinion in comments under a post on Telegram. It is absurd and unlawful to impose a custodial sentence for expressing an opinion.
Criticism of Russian state propaganda and Russia’s war against Ukraine is beneficial to society and should not be considered an offence under either administrative or criminal law.
A detailed description of Vakhtangi Rogava’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Vakhtangi Rogava at the following address:
RU:
196641, г. Санкт-Петербург, п. Металлострой, Северный пр-д 1-й, д. 1, ФКУ ИК-5 ГУФСИН России по г. Санкт-Петербургу и Ленинградской области, Рогава Вахтанги Вахтангиевич, 1993 г. р.
EN:
Vakhtangi Vakhtangievich Rogava (born 1993), Penal Colony No. 5, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the city of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, 1 Severny Proezd, Metallostroy, St. Petersburg, 196641, Russia.
You can also send emails via F-Pismo (for payment with Russian bank cards), ZT (for payment with all bank cards), and Memorial-France (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.
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