Zakhar Petukhov is a political prisoner

A resident of Obninsk has been sentenced to two years of compulsory work in custody for a message he posted about crimes committed by Russian troops in Bucha in a local online forum

The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Zakhar Petukhov a political prisoner. Petukhov was convicted on a criminal charge of ‘publicly disseminating information known to be false about the use of the Russian armed forces’ for messages in a local forum about crimes committed by Russian troops in Bucha in Ukraine. Petukhov’s criminal prosecution and conviction violated his rights to freedom of expression and fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Zakhar Petukhov and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.

What were the charges against Zakhar Petukhov?

Zakhar Petukhov was detained and placed under house arrest in March 2025 on a charge of disseminating ‘fake news’ about the army (Article 207.3, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). He was accused of having written in December 2024 in a local online chat that Russian troops had killed Ukrainian civilians in Bucha near Kyiv.

The court found that by posting this message, he had ‘misled members of the residents’ forum regarding the lawfulness of the actions of the Russian armed forces, undermined their authority and discredited them in the eyes of society, causing citizens who read the statement to feel anxiety, fear, alarm, and a sense of insecurity with regard to the state.’

On 27 May 2025, Zakhar Petukhov was convicted on a charge of disseminating information known to be false about the use of the Russian armed forces and sentenced to two years of compulsory labour in a correctional centre, with 10% of his earnings to be withheld in favour of the state.

Why do we consider Zakhar Petukhov a political prisoner?

The offence of disseminating ‘fake news’ about the actions of the Russian army, of which Zakhar Petukhov was convicted, was introduced into the Criminal Code immediately after the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. In practice, this law prohibits any criticism of the Russian authorities or military in violation of the civil right of freedom of expression.

The law on ‘fake news’ contradicts both the Russian Constitution and the country’s international obligations, as well as fundamental principles of law. In particular, the law contradicts the principle of legal certainty since a person cannot know in advance what information the authorities may regard as being false. Still less is it possible to determine whether a person knew that certain information was false, or whether they intended to disseminate information known to be false. We regard all convictions under this law as unlawful.

We do not know the exact wording Petukhov used in his message, but crimes committed by Russian troops in Bucha have been thoroughly documented, including in reports by international and human rights organisations. The Russian authorities deny these established facts.

We believe that criticism of a war of aggression is beneficial to society and cannot be grounds for a criminal prosecution, let alone deprivation of liberty.

A detailed description of Zakhar Petukhov’s case and of our position is available on our website.

How can you help?

You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.