{"id":62069,"date":"2025-10-27T11:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T08:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/my-schitaem-politzaklyuchyonnym-alekseya-giletina\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T14:42:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T11:42:25","slug":"aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/","title":{"rendered":"Aleksei Giletin is a political prisoner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A resident of Murmansk has been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for corresponding with an alleged representative of the Free Russia Legion and filming military facilities<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018Political Prisoners. Memorial\u2019 human rights project, in accordance with<\/strong> international standards<\/strong><\/a>, considers Aleksei Giletin a political prisoner. Giletin was convicted on a criminal charge of participation in the activities of a terrorist organization<\/strong> for corresponding with an alleged representative of the Free Russia Legion and filming military facilities.<\/strong> Giletin\u2019s criminal prosecution and conviction violated his right to a fair trial. We demand that Aleksei Giletin be released and that all criminal charges against him dropped.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What were the charges against Aleksei Giletin?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 17 June 2024 in Murmansk, FSB officers searched the rented apartment of Ukrainian-born Aleksei Giletin. He was detained and then remanded in custody on a charge of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization (Article 205.5, Part 2, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the investigative authorities, Giletin had established contact on Telegram with an unidentified representative of the Free Russia Legion, to whom he sent an application to join the organization as well as photographs of several military facilities in Murmansk, railroad tracks, and a video of a rehearsal of a military parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main evidence for the prosecution was testimony Giletin gave during the investigation, correspondence with the \u2018representative of the Legion\u2019 found on his phone, and the results of the search of his apartment. Several witnesses also testified against Giletin, stating they had seen posts on his VK page condemning the conduct of the \u2018Special Military Operation.\u2019 In court, Giletin admitted his guilt but refused to testify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 5 March 2025, a military court sentenced Aleksei Giletin to 11 years\u2019 imprisonment, with the first two years to be served in a cell-type prison and the rest in a strict regime penal colony. On 18 June 2025, his sentence was upheld on appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we consider Aleksei Giletin a political prisoner?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do not know whether Giletin did in fact communicate with representatives of the Free Russia Legion. However, the actions of which he was accused do not in any case constitute a crime. Giletin was prosecuted and convicted on charges of terrorism for alleged participation in the Free Russia Legion. Yet the decision by Russia\u2019s courts to designate this military unit as a terrorist organization was illegal and unfounded. The Free Russia Legion is part of the Ukrainian armed forces. Its activities during the armed conflict are not terrorism, but participation in the legitimate defence of Ukraine against Russian aggression. Furthermore, joining an official army unit cannot take place by means of correspondence on messenger apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are grounds to believe Giletin may have fallen victim to a sting operation by FSB officers who contacted him under the guise of representatives of the Free Russia Legion. He is a native of Ukraine, has publicly expressed anti-war views, and in 2022 received serious injuries as a result of an attack and continues as a consequence to suffer ill-health. We believe Giletin’s testimony may have been given under pressure from the investigative authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A detailed description of Aleksei Giletin\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 Aleksei Giletin at the following address:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

457670, \u0427\u0435\u043b\u044f\u0431\u0438\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u043e\u0431\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u044c, \u0433. \u0412\u0435\u0440\u0445\u043d\u0435\u0443\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044c\u0441\u043a, \u0443\u043b. \u0421\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043d\u0430\u044f, \u0434. 1, \u0424\u041a\u0423 \u0422 \u0413\u0423\u0424\u0421\u0418\u041d \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043f\u043e \u0427\u0435\u043b\u044f\u0431\u0438\u043d\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 \u043e\u0431\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438, \u0413\u0438\u043b\u0435\u0442\u0438\u043d \u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0435\u0439 \u0418\u0432\u0430\u043d\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447, 1983 \u0433. \u0440.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Aleksei Ivanovich Giletin (born 1983), Prison of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Chelyabinsk Oblast, 1 Severnaya Street, Verkhneuralsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, 457670, Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also send emails via <\/a>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-62069","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","regions-murmansk-oblast","news-type-press-releases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAleksei Giletin is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A resident of Murmansk has been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for corresponding with an alleged representative of the Free Russia Legion and filming military facilities\" \/>\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\/aleksei-giletin-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=\"Aleksei Giletin is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A resident of Murmansk has been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for corresponding with an alleged representative of the Free Russia Legion and filming military facilities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Political prisoners support. Memorial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-12T11:42:25+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\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/\",\"name\":\"Aleksei Giletin is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-27T08:06:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-12T11:42:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"A resident of Murmansk has been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for corresponding with an alleged representative of the Free Russia Legion and filming military facilities\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-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\":\"Aleksei Giletin 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":"Aleksei Giletin is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","description":"A resident of Murmansk has been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for corresponding with an alleged representative of the Free Russia Legion and filming military facilities","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\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Aleksei Giletin is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","og_description":"A resident of Murmansk has been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for corresponding with an alleged representative of the Free Russia Legion and filming military facilities","og_url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/","og_site_name":"Political prisoners support. Memorial","article_modified_time":"2026-07-12T11:42:25+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\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/","url":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/","name":"Aleksei Giletin is a political prisoner - Political prisoners support. Memorial","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-10-27T08:06:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-12T11:42:25+00:00","description":"A resident of Murmansk has been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for corresponding with an alleged representative of the Free Russia Legion and filming military facilities","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-is-a-political-prisoner\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/aleksei-giletin-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":"Aleksei Giletin 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\/62069","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=62069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}