{"id":60855,"date":"2025-09-08T16:44:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T13:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnoj-veroniku-netunaevu\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T10:28:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:28:07","slug":"veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/","title":{"rendered":"Veronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An official from Uglich, who was a victim of a provocation by the FSB, has been sentenced to six years in a penal colony on a charge of aiding and abetting preparation of an explosion at a hydroelectric power station<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018Political Prisoners. Memorial\u2019 human rights project, in accordance with<\/strong> <\/strong>international standards<\/strong><\/a>, considers Veronika Netunaeva a political prisoner. Netunaeva was convicted on a charge of aiding and abetting preparation of a terrorist act. Netunaeva\u2019s criminal prosecution and conviction violated her right to a fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Veronika Netunaeva and that all criminal charges against her be dropped.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What were the charges against Veronika Netunaeva?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veronika Netunaeva worked as a legal consultant in the Uglich city government in Yaroslavl Oblast. On 14 July 2023, she was detained at her place of work and accused of assisting the Ukrainian intelligence services in preparing terrorist attacks on the Uglich hydroelectric power station and the Uglich district authorities. According to the indictment, Netunaeva passed information to the Ukrainian side to which she had access by virtue of her work, as well as geolocation data and photographs of the sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 13 February 2024 the court, having altered the wording of the charge and removed the episode related to preparation of an explosion at the district government building, found Veronika Netunaeva guilty of aiding and abetting preparation of a terrorist act (Article 33, Part 5, of the Russian Criminal Code [CC RF] in conjunction with Article 30, Part 1, CC RF and Article 205, Part 1, CC RF) at the nearby hydroelectric power station. She was sentenced to six years\u2019 imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we consider Veronika Netunaeva a political prisoner?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numerous circumstances in Netunaeva\u2019s case indicate she was the victim of a provocation by the Russian security services. She came to the attention of the authorities because of social media posts she made against the war. It appears the FSB subsequently began an operation against her in which, posing as \u2018Ukrainian intelligence officers,\u2019 FSB operatives requested Netunaeva to give them publicly available information that was of little or no use for any potential attack. Her arrest took place shortly before the supposed \u2018Ukrainians\u2019 were to tell her the date of the planned attack. Naturally, no such attack occurred and, according to the case materials, the investigative authorities made no attempt to identify or apprehend its alleged organisers or participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important circumstance is that the WhatsApp account, used by the supposed \u2018Ukrainian intelligence services,\u2019 was linked to the same phone number that appeared in the criminal case of another political prisoner, Valeriya Zotova<\/a>. Zotova, also a resident of Yaroslavl Oblast, was the target of an FSB provocation that led to her conviction for an attempted arson attack. The Yaroslavl branch of the FSB likely used the same phone number in both operations targeting the two women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, the charges against Netunaeva are unsubstantiated. There is no evidence that the information she provided could have helped plan an explosion at the Uglich hydroelectric power station or that it was not publicly available. Neither the investigative authorities nor the court attempted to determine who owned the phone number associated with the WhatsApp account, to establish the nature of the alleged plot, or to assess whether the planned explosion was feasible or what its potential consequences might have been. The prosecution also failed to prove that Netunaeva intended to assist in committing a terrorist act. Netunaeva maintains she sought to minimise any possible harm from the supposed plan and deliberately sent her interlocutor outdated and useless information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A detailed description of Veronika Netunaeva\u2019s case and of our position is available on our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can you help?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can write to Veronika Netunaeva at the following address:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RU:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

156009, \u0433. \u041a\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043c\u0430, \u043f\u043e\u0441. \u0412\u0430\u0441\u0438\u043b\u044c\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0435, \u0412\u0430\u0441\u0438\u043b\u044c\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0435 \u0448\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0435, \u0434. 9, \u0424\u041a\u0423 \u0418\u041a-8 \u0423\u0424\u0421\u0418\u041d \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u043e \u041a\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043c\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 \u043e\u0431\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438, \u041d\u0435\u0442\u0443\u043d\u0430\u0435\u0432\u043e\u0439 \u0412\u0435\u0440\u043e\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0435 \u041d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0430\u0435\u0432\u043d\u0435 1987 \u0433. \u0440.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EN:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veronika Nikolaevna Netunaeva (born 1987), Penal Colony No. 8, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Kostroma Oblast, 9 Vasilyevskoe Shosse, Vasilyevskoe settlement, Kostroma, 156009, Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also send emails via F-Pismo<\/a> (for payment with Russian bank cards), ZT<\/a> (for payment with all bank cards), and Memorial-France<\/a> (free of charge).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can donate<\/a> to help all political prisoners in Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-60855","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","regions-yaroslavl-oblast","news-type-nashi-novosti-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVeronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An official from Uglich, who was a victim of a provocation by the FSB, has been sentenced to six years in a penal colony on a charge of aiding and abetting preparation of an explosion at a hydroelectric power station\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Veronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An official from Uglich, who was a victim of a provocation by the FSB, has been sentenced to six years in a penal colony on a charge of aiding and abetting preparation of an explosion at a hydroelectric power station\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Political prisoners support. Memorial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T07:28:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/\",\"name\":\"Veronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-08T13:44:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-18T07:28:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"An official from Uglich, who was a victim of a provocation by the FSB, has been sentenced to six years in a penal colony on a charge of aiding and abetting preparation of an explosion at a hydroelectric power station\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u041d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Veronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/\",\"name\":\"\u041f\u043e\u0434\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0436\u043a\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0437\u0430\u043a\u043b\u044e\u0447\u0451\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0445. \u041c\u0435\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0430\u043b\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Veronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","description":"An official from Uglich, who was a victim of a provocation by the FSB, has been sentenced to six years in a penal colony on a charge of aiding and abetting preparation of an explosion at a hydroelectric power station","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Veronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","og_description":"An official from Uglich, who was a victim of a provocation by the FSB, has been sentenced to six years in a penal colony on a charge of aiding and abetting preparation of an explosion at a hydroelectric power station","og_url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/","og_site_name":"Political prisoners support. Memorial","article_modified_time":"2026-06-18T07:28:07+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/","url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/","name":"Veronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-08T13:44:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-18T07:28:07+00:00","description":"An official from Uglich, who was a victim of a provocation by the FSB, has been sentenced to six years in a penal colony on a charge of aiding and abetting preparation of an explosion at a hydroelectric power station","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/veronika-netunaeva-is-a-political-prisoner\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430","item":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u041d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438","item":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Veronika Netunaeva is a political prisoner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/","name":"\u041f\u043e\u0434\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0436\u043a\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0437\u0430\u043a\u043b\u044e\u0447\u0451\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0445. \u041c\u0435\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0430\u043b","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/60855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}