Vladislav Apestin is a political prisoner
A father of four from Moscow Oblast has been sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment on charges of promoting terrorism for posting a video by the Free Russia Legion on the VK social media site
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Vladislav Apestin a political prisoner. Apestin was convicted on a charge of promoting terrorism via the internet for posting a video by the Free Russia Legion. Apestin’s criminal prosecution violates his rights to freedom of expression and to a fair trial. We demand that Apestin be released immediately and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What are the charges against Vladislav Apestin?
Vladislav Apestin is a volleyball coach, blogger and civil society activist who has four children. On his personal blogs on VK and YouTube, he repeatedly spoke out about politics, criticised the Putin regime and expressed support for Aleksei Navalny.
On 12 August 2024, Apestin was detained and the following day remanded in custody on a charge of promoting terrorism (Article 205.2, Part 2, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The basis for the charge was a video entitled ‘Appeal by the Free Russia Legion to the Russian People’ which Apestin reposted on his VK page.
On 25 June 2026, Vladislav Apestin was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony.
Why do we consider Vladislav Apestin a political prisoner?
The video message posted by Vladislav Apestin contains criticism of the current Russian authorities and expressions of hope for a change of regime, but no propaganda of terrorism. Phrases such as ‘let’s free Russia from Putin’ are political statements, not calls for terrorism.
The Free Russia Legion has been unlawfully designated a terrorist organisation in Russia. In reality, this Ukrainian military unit is involved in repelling Russian aggression. Under international law, a military unit that forms part of a country’s official armed forces cannot be considered a terrorist organisation.
Clearly, the reason for Apestin’s prosecution was his criticism of the Russian regime and of the war that regime has unleashed against Ukraine.
A detailed description of Vladislav Apestin’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
You can write to Vladislav Apestin at the following address:
RU:
Российская Федерация, 107996, г. Москва, ул. Матросская тишина, д. 18, ФКУ СИЗО-1 ГУФСИН России по г. Москве, Апестин Владислав Владимирович, 1979 г. р.
EN:
Vladislav Vladimirovich Apestin (born 1979), Remand Prison No. 1, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the city of Moscow, 18 Matrosskaya Tishina Street, Moscow, 107996, 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.
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
