{"id":57352,"date":"2026-04-08T15:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/?post_type=news&p=57352"},"modified":"2026-04-08T15:14:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:14:20","slug":"indigenous-rights-defender-remanded-in-custody-in-case-linked-to-banned-aborigen-forum","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/indigenous-rights-defender-remanded-in-custody-in-case-linked-to-banned-aborigen-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous rights defender remanded in custody in case linked to banned \u2018Aborigen Forum\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A second arrest has been confirmed in the \u2018Aborigen Forum\u2019 case, according to Mediazona, citing<\/a> the detainee\u2019s support group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natalya Leongardt, 58, a specialist in the rights of Russia\u2019s indigenous peoples of the North, was detained on 17 December 2025 and remanded in custody the following day by Moscow\u2019s Basmanny District Court. Her arrest followed coordinated searches across at least ten regions, affecting no fewer than 17 individuals, including members of indigenous communities in Siberia and the Arctic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, only one arrest had been publicly reported: Darya Yegereva, a representative of the Selkup people, a small indigenous group in Western Siberia. Both women have been charged under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code \u2014 participation in a \u2018terrorist organisation\u2019 \u2014 and remain in custody at Moscow\u2019s SIZO-6. Their detention has since been extended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same case, a court has ordered the arrest in absentia of St Petersburg-based publicist Maxim Kuzakhmetov, the former editor-in-chief of Moskovsky Komsomolets in St Petersburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Court records indicate that the investigation spans eight criminal provisions, including allegations of disseminating \u2018false information\u2019 about the military, calls for separatism, involvement in an \u2018extremist\u2019 organisation, incitement of hatred, rehabilitation of Nazism, the creation of and participation in terrorist organisations, and the desecration of state symbols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natalya Leongardt has worked since 2005 with the Centre for the Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North, where she developed educational programmes on indigenous rights, sustainable development, and community economic engagement. She also organised training initiatives and international exchanges across northern regions. Between 2011 and 2013, she worked with the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East, representing indigenous interests in international forums. Her work has been described by supporters as open and lawful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018Aborigen Forum\u2019, an association of experts on indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East, has been banned twice in Russia. On 7 June 2024, it was designated extremist as part of the \u2018Anti-Russian Separatist Movement\u2019 and subsequently announced its dissolution. On 22 November 2024, it was further classified as a terrorist organisation, described as a subdivision of the \u2018Forum of Free States of Post-Russia\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-57352","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","regions-moscow","news-type-nashi-novosti-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndigenous rights defender remanded in custody in case linked to banned \u2018Aborigen Forum\u2019 - Political prisoners support. Memorial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A second arrest has been confirmed in the \u2018Aborigen Forum\u2019 case. 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