Vladislav Timofeev is a political prisoner
A 19-year-old from Pskov was sentenced to two and a half years in a penal colony for comments on Telegram about the war, the Azov Battalion and the Russian Volunteer Corps
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Vladislav Timofeev a political prisoner. Timofeev was convicted on a charge of justification of terrorism for comments he made on Telegram. The criminal prosecution and conviction of Vladislav Timofeev violated his rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial. We demand that Vladislav Timofeev be released and his criminal conviction quashed.
What were the charges against Vladislav Timofeev?
On 16 April 2025, the Pskov apartment of Vladislav Timofeev, who studied at a technical college and worked at a garment factory, was searched and his electronic devices were seized. Following the search, Timofeev remained at liberty.
In June 2025, a court in Pskov fined Timofeev on an administrative-law charge for online comments the authorities deemed offensive to supporters of the war against Ukraine and pro-government volunteers.
In July 2025, a criminal case was brought against Timofeev on a charge of publicly justifying terrorism (Article 205.2, Part 2, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation); he was placed under house arrest. The grounds for initiating the criminal case were comments posted on Telegram about the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Azov Battalion.
On 8 August 2025, Vladislav Timofeev was sentenced to two and a half years in a general regime penal colony. He was taken into custody in the courtroom.
Why do we consider Timofeev a political prisoner?
The statements for which Vladislav Timofeev was convicted relate to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the role of certain Ukrainian units. These comments contained no justification of terrorist acts or calls for violence.
The charges were based solely on the fact that the Ukrainian units mentioned in the comments have been designated as terrorist organisations in Russia. Not only have these designations not been published, as required by law, but they also directly contradict international law, according to which the actions of the armed forces of the parties during a conflict cannot be classified as terrorism. Statements in support of these military formations and their participation in military operations cannot therefore be punished on a charge of justifying terrorism.
The closed nature of the trial and the formalistic nature of the proceedings also point to the political nature of the prosecution.
A detailed description of Vladislav Timofeev’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
If you have information about the penal colony in which Vladislav Timofeev is being held, please let us know by email at [email protected].
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
