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List of Individuals Recognized as Political Prisoners by the Memorial Human Rights Centre (with the Exception of Those Persecuted in connection with the Realization of their Right to Freedom of Religion) as of 1 March 2018

Publication date: 05.03.2018

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We consider political prisoners to be individuals who are serving a prison sentence, as well as those being held in custody or under house arrest as a form of pre-trial detention. We reckon among political prisoners individuals who are being persecuted in connection with the realization of their legitimate rights as well as those who are being unlawfully or disproportionately persecuted by the authorities for political reasons. We do not regard as political prisoners those individuals who used violence against the person or called for violence on the grounds of religion, nationality, race etc. All the criteria for considering individuals as political prisoners are published on our website.

There are 46 names in the present list. The names of those who are being persecuted mainly in connection with the realization of their right to freedom of religion can be found in a separate list. This list is far from being complete. It includes only those individuals and cases for which we have managed to collect and analyze sufficient information for a convincing conclusion to be drawn about a politically motivated and illegal nature of their criminal prosecution. Today, the list does not contain the names of a large number of people who have been deprived of liberty, and whose prosecution contains indications of illegality or political motivation, but for whose cases we have either not yet received the required information, or have not yet fully analyzed the information.

The political prisoners come from different groups persecuted by the State for political reasons. The ‘Ukrainian trail’ can be clearly traced in the cases of current or former Ukrainian citizens Ali Asanov, Mustafa Degermendzhi, Vladimir Balukh, Stanislav Klykh, Nikolai Karpyuk, Andrei Kolomiyets, Alexander Kostenko, Oleg Sentsov, Alexander Kolchenko, Sergei Litvinov, and Vladimir Prysych. The cases of Russian citizens Denis Bakholdin and Danis Safargali are also linked to the Russian authorities’ anti-Ukraine campaign.

Restriction of the right to assembly has remained one of the most important goals of politically motivated incarceration. Alexander Shpakov, Dmitri Krepkin, Alexei Politikov, Dmitri Borisov, and Stanislav Zimovets are still behind bars in connection with ’the 26 March case’.

The Russian authorities have intensified a crackdown on freedom of expression and dissemination of information, particularly, in the Internet: Alexei Kungurov, Robert Zagreev, and Vadim Tyumentsev were put behind bars for trying to exercise this right; Mark Galperin has remained under house arrest. The journalists Igor Rudnikov from Kaliningrad, well known for his high-profile investigations, and Zhelaudi Geriyev from Chechnya have been deprived of liberty on false grounds.

Criminal prosecution has also been used to restrict freedom of association. The initiative group for the holding of the referendum ‘For a responsible government’ was groundlessly labelled illegal and banned; its members Valery Parfyonov, Alexander Sokolov, and Kirill Barabash are still serving their terms in prison. Likewise, the members of the association of Kaliningrad regionalists of monarchist persuasion ‘B.A.R.S’ (the Baltic Vanguard of the Russian Resistance) Alexander Orshulevich, Igor Ivanov, Alexander Mamayev, and Nikolai Sentsov found themselves behind bars.

The Russian authorities at all levels have used unlawful criminal prosecution to suppress any undesirable civic activity. The list of their victims includes the names of Ivan Barylyak who defended housing rights, and Alexander Eivazov who disclosed violations in the Russian judicial system.

The high treason cases of Svyatoslav Bobyshev, Gennady Kravtsov, Petr Parpulov, and Vladimir Lapygin have helped propaganda to create the image of a Russia besieged by enemies.

The Chechen authorities have stepped up persecution of human rights defenders: Oyub Titiev, head of the Grozny office of Human Rights Centre Memorial, was arrested on absurd charges.

Dozens of different articles of the Russian Criminal Code have been utilized as tools of political repression. The most widely used articles are those related to extremism (incitement of hatred and enmity; public appeals for extremist activity; organization of the activities of an extremist organization), terrorism (terrorist act; complicity in terrorist activity and justification of such an activity, organization of a terrorist group), and maintaining law and order at public gatherings (mass riots; multiple violations of the established procedure for organising gatherings; use of force against a representative of the authority).

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  1. Asanov, Ali Akhmedovich, was born on 7 July 1982. A resident of the village of Urozhainoye in Crimea, he holds a higher education degree. He is married with four children. Prior to his arrest, Mr Asanov worked as a sales representative. He holds Russian and Ukrainian citizenships. Mr Asanov is charged under Part Two of Art. 212 (‘Participation in mass riots’) of the Russian Criminal Code. Mr Asanov was held in custody from 15 April 2015 to 6 April 2017 when he was placed under house arrest.

  1. Bagavutdinova, Zarema Ziyavtudinovna, was born on 18 September 1968. A member of the Dagestani NGO ‘Pravozashchita’, she was sentenced to 5 years in a general-regime colony on a charge of committing a crime under Part One of Art. 205.1 (‘Incitement and other involvement of individuals in committing a crime envisaged under Art. 208 of the Russian Criminal Code’) of the Russian Criminal Code. Ms Bagavutdinova has been held in custody since 4 June 2013.

  1. Bakholdin, Denis Igorevich, was born on 14 August 1981. A resident of Moscow, in autumn 2014, he moved to Ukraine. In 2014, at least on 8 occasions, he was charged with administrative offences for taking part in manifestations against the war with Ukraine and in support of political prisoners. Mr Bakholdin is charged with committing a crime under Part Two of Act 282.2 (‘Participation in the activities of an extremist organization’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been held in custody since 9 March 2017.

  1. Balukh, Vladimir Grigoryevich, was born on 8 February 1971. A resident of the village of Serebryanka of the Razdolnoye district of Crimea, he is a farmer and a pro-Ukrainian activist who kept the Ukrainian nationality after 2014 and refused to accept the Russian passport. He was sentenced to 3 years and 7 months in a general-regime penal colony under Part One of Art. 222 (‘Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or bearing of firearms, its basic parts, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices’). On 29 August 2017, a new criminal case was opened against Vladimir Balukh for allegedly committing a crime envisaged under Part One of Art. 318 (‘Use of force against a representative of the authority’) of the Russian Criminal Code; on 6 December 2017 these charges were dropped in favour of those under Part Two of Article 321 (‘Disorganisation of the activities of a temporary detention facility’) of the Russian Criminal Code. On 16 January 2018, Mr Balukh was sentenced to 3 years and 7 months in a settlement colony with a fine of 10,000 rubles under Part One of Art. 222 (‘Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or bearing of firearms, its basic parts, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices’). Mr. Balukh was held in custody from 8 December 2016 to 1 December 2017; afterwards he was placed under house arrest. On 16 January 2018, he was taken in custody again.

  1. Barabash, Kirill Vladimirovich, was born on 21 January 1977. Mr Barabash is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. He was charged under Part One of Art. 282.2 (‘Organisation of the activities of an extremist organisation’) of the Russian Criminal Code for having allegedly pursued the activities of the inter-regional public movement ‘Army of the People’s Will’, banned in Russia in 2010, through the Initiative Group for the Holding of a Referendum ‘For a responsible government’ ‘with the aim of carrying out extremist activities’. On 10 August 2017, he was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony and stripped of his military rank. He has been held in custody since 17 December 2015.

  1. Barylyak, Ivan Mikhailovich, was born on 19 February 1986. A resident of the city of Stavropol, Mr Baryilyak worked as a repair technician while studying law extramurally. He was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in a strict-regime colony on a charge of crimes under Part Two of Art. 213 (‘Hooliganism’) of the Russian Criminal Code, point ‘a’ of Part Two, Art. 116, (‘Battery’), and point ‘a’ of Part Two, Art. 115 (‘Intentional Infliction of Light Injury’). Mr Barylyak was held in custody from 10 September 2014 to 24 December 2014; when he was placed under house arrest until 31 August 2015. He has been imprisoned after the pronouncement of the judgment on 31 August 2015.

  1. Bobyshev, Svyatoslav Vasilyevich, was born on 9 August 1953. A professor at the Baltic State Technical University named after D. F. Ustinov (Voenmekh), he was charged with crimes under Art. 275 (‘High treason’) of the Russian Criminal Code for having allegedly transferred information on the Bulava missile to China. On 20 June 2012, he was sentenced by the St Petersburg City Court to 12 years in a strict-regime penal colony. He has been held in custody since 16 March 2010.

  1. Borisov, Dmitri Valerievich, was born on 9 November 1985. A resident of the Krasnogorsk district of the Moscow region. In 2008, he graduated from the Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation and was a businessman. He is single and has no children. He is charged under Part One of Art. 318 (‘Use of force against a representative of the authority’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been in custody since 8 June 2017.

  1. Degermendzhi, Mustafa Bekirovich, was born on 22 May 1989. He is a resident of the village of Grushevka in Sudak and is single. Prior to his arrest, he worked as a sales representative. Mr Degermendzhi holds two citizenships (Russian Federation and Ukraine). He was accused of crimes under Part Two of Art. 212 (‘Participation in mass riots’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He was held in custody from 7 May 2015 to 6 April 2017 when he was placed under house arrest.

  1. Eivazov, Alexander Khikmetovich, was born on 19 October 1994. A resident of the city of Saint Petersburg, he pursues extramurally a Master’s degree in Law at the North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation. He is a member of the Yedinaya Rossiya (United Russia) political party. Mr Eivazov was charged with committing a crime under Part Three of Art. 294 (‘Obstructing the course of justice using the official position’). He has been held in custody since 24 August 2017.

  1. Galperin, Mark Izrailevich, was born on 20 April 1968. A resident of the town of Reutov in the Moscow region. He graduated from the Moscow Automotive Institute and worked as a marketing specialist and a sales assistant. A civil society activist, one of the leaders of the ‘Novaya oppozitsiya’ movement. In January 2015, he was charged under Article 212.1 (‘Repeated violation of the established procedure for organizing or holding gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, marches or picketing’). Mr Galperin gave a written undertaking not to leave the place of his permanent residence. On 29 September 2015, the Tverskoy district court of Moscow sentenced Mark Galperin to a fine of 200,000 rubles. Human Rights Centre Memorial considered his prosecution to be illegal and politically motivated. In 2016, Mr Galperin was charged under Part Two of Article 280 (Public appeals for an extremist activity committed using the Internet’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been held in custody since 27 June 2017.

  1. Geriyev, Zhelaudi Nasrudinovich, was born on 13 June 1993. A resident of the village of Mairtup of the Kurchaloi district of Chechnya, he is single. Mr Geriyev graduated from the Faculty of History of the Chechen State University and worked as a journalist at the Internet media ‘Kavkazsky Uzel’ (‘The Caucasus Knot’). He was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony under Part Two of Article 228 (‘Illegal storage and transportation of narcotic substances on a large scale without the purpose of selling’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been held in custody since 16 April 2016.

  1. Ivanov, Igor Romanovich, was born on 17 June 1996. An opposition activist of Russian nationalist persuasion from Kaliningrad. He is charged under Part Two of Article 282.1 (‘Participation in the activities of an extremist organization’) as a member of ‘B.A.R.S.’ (the Baltic Vanguard of the Russian Resistance). He has been held in custody since 27 May 2017.

  1. Karpyuk, Nikolai Andronovich, was born on 21 May 1964. He is a citizen of Ukraine. At the time of his arrest, he was one of the leaders of ‘Right Sector’, an organisation banned in Russia. Mr Karpyuk was accused of crimes underpart One of Art. 209 (‘Creation of a stable armed group (gang) with the aim of assaulting individuals or organizations, and also operation of such a group (gang)’) of the Russian Criminal Code, points ‘v’, ‘z’ and ‘n’ of Art. 102 (‘Intentional murder of two or more people in connection with their professional duties, committed by a group of people by preliminary agreement’) of the Criminal Code of the Russian SFSR, and Part Two of Art. 15 in conjunction with points ‘v’, ‘z’ and ‘n’ of Art. 102 (‘Attempted premeditated murder of two or more people in connection with their professional duties, committed by a group of people by preliminary agreement’) and sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison. He has been in custody since 21 March 2014 although being deprived of freedom since 17 March 2014.

  1. Klykh, Stanislav Romanovich, was born on 25 January 1974. He is a citizen of Ukraine, a lecturer at the Kiev Transportation and Economics College. Mr Klykh was charged with committing crimes under Part Two of Art. 209 (‘Participation in a stable armed group (gang) and in the assaults committed by it’) of the Russian Criminal Code, points ‘v’, ‘z’ and ‘n’ of Art. 102 (‘Intentional murder of two or more people in connection with their professional duties, committed by a group of people by preliminary agreement’) of the Criminal Code of the Russian SFSR, and Part Two of Art. 15 in conjunction with points ‘v’, ‘z’ and ‘n’ of Art. 102 (‘Attempted premeditated murder of two or more people in connection with their professional duties, committed by a group of people by preliminary agreement’) and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was taken into custody by a court decision on 22 August 2014, being actually deprived of freedom since 8 August 2014.

  1. Kolchenko, Alexander Aleksandrovich, was born on 26 November 1989. A resident of Crimea, Mr Kolchenko is an anti-fascist who clashed with the far right. He worked as a loader at the post office and a print shop, while studying geography extramurally. Mr Kolchenko was sentenced to 10 years in a strict-regime penal colony under Part Two of Art. 205.4 (‘A terrorist act committed by an organised group’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been held in custody since 16 May 2014.

  1. Kolomiyets, Andrei Vladimirovich, was born on 8 May 1993. While holding a permanent registration in his native village of Viktorivka in the Kiev region of Ukraine, he was also temporarily registered in the village of Yantarny of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic of the Russian Federation where he resided with his common-law wife Galina Gennadyevna Zelikhanova. He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in a strict-regime colony on the charges of committing crimes under Part Three of Article 30 in conjunction with points ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘e’, ‘l’ of Part Two, Art. 105 (‘Attempted murder of two individuals in connection with their professional duties committed by generally dangerous means for reasons of political or ideological hatred’) of the Russian Criminal Code and under Part two of Art. 228 (‘Illegal acquisition, storage and transportation of plants containing narcotic or psychotropic substances on a large scale without the purpose of selling’). He has been held in custody since 15 May 2015.

  1. Kostenko, Alexander Fedorovich, was born on 10 March 1986. A resident of Crimea, he is a former employee of the Kiev district branch of the Ukrainian Main Department of Internal Affairs in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in the city of Simferopol. Mr Kostenko was sentenced to 3 years and 11 months of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony on the charge of crimes under point ‘b’ of Part Two, Art. 115 (‘Intentional infliction of light injury which has caused temporary damage of health, committed for reasons of ideological hatred or enmity’) of the Russian Criminal Code and Part One of Art. 222 (‘Illegal storage and bearing of firearms and ammunition’). He has been held in custody since 6 February 2015.

  1. Kravtsov, Gennady Nikolaevich, was born on 30 October 1968. A resident of the city of Moscow, he worked as a chief design engineer at an IT company. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in a strict-regime penal colony on a charge of committing a crime under Art. 275 (‘High treason’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been held in custody since 27 May 2014.

  1. Krepkin, Dmitri Mikhailovich, was born in 26 October 1984. A resident of Moscow, he worked as a repair technician. He is single. He was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony under Part One of Art. 318 (‘Use of force against a representative of the authority’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been held in custody since 16 May 2017.

  1. Kudayev, Rasul Vladimirovich, was born on 23 January 1978. He resided in the village of Khasanya near the city of Nalchik at the time of his arrest. He was charged with crimes under points ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘zh’ and ‘z’ of Art. 105 (‘Murder of two or more individuals by generally dangerous means by an organized group, out of mercenary interest related to banditry’) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Part Four of Art. 166 (‘Unlawful occupancy of transport vehicles without the intention to commit theft committed by an organized group with the use of force dangerous to life and health, and also with the threat of using such force’), Part Three of Art. 205 (‘Terrorist act using firearms committed by an organized group resulting in dangerous consequences’), Part Two of Art. 209 (Participation in a stable armed group (band) with the aim of assaulting individuals or organizations, and in the assaults committed by it’), Part Two of Art. 210 (‘Participation in a criminal group’), Part Three of Art. 222 (‘Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or bearing of firearms, its basic parts, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices committed by an organized group’), Part Two of Art. 30 and points ‘a’ and ‘b’ of Part Four, Art. 226 (‘Attempt to steal firearms and ammunition committed by an organized group with the use of force dangerous to life and health, and also with the threat of using such force’), points ‘a’ and ‘b’ of Part Four, Art. 226 (‘Theft of firearms and ammunition committed by an organized group with the use of force dangerous to life and health, and also with the threat of using such force’), Art. 279 (‘Active participation in an armed mutiny aimed at a forcible change of the constitutional order or a violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation’), and Art. 317 (‘Attempt on the life of law enforcement officers or military service personnel’). Mr Kudayev was sentenced on 21 December 2014 to life imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony. He had been held in custody since 23 October 2005 in connection with his alleged participation in the Nalchik attack on 13 October 2005.

  1. Kungurov, Alexei Anatolyevich, was born on 6 March 1977. A resident of the city of Tyumen, he is an opposition blogger and journalist of left nationalist persuasion. Mr Kungurov is charged with Part One of Art. 205.2 (‘Public justification of terrorism’) of the Russian Criminal Code for having published a post in his blog, critical of the Russian military operation in Syria. Since 15 June 2016, he has been held in custody while awaiting trial.

  1. Lapygin, Vladimir Ivanovich, was born on 27 August 1940. A resident of Moscow, he holds a PhD in technical sciences and is an associate professor. He is married. Prior to his arrest, he worked as a deputy chief of the Centre for heat exchange and aerogasdynamics of the Central Scientific Research Institute for Machine Building Technology (TsNIIMash, the main centre of Roscosmos) and lectured at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. He was charged under Art. 275 (‘High treason’) and sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment in a strict-regime penal colony. He was placed under house arrest on 13 May 2015. Mr Lapygin has been held in custody since 6 September 2016.

  1. Litvinov, Sergei Nikolaevich, was born on 9 March 1983. He lived in the village of Kamyshnoe in the same district. A citizen of Ukraine, he has an incomplete secondary education, and, according to his wife, is almost illiterate. Mr Litvinov was not conscripted into the army on grounds of ill health. According to the charges laid against him, he was not officially employed, and is single with no children. However, according to media reports, he is married with a 14-year-old daughter. He was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in a strict-regime penal colony under Part Three of Art. 162 (‘Robbery, involving illegal entry to a residence, premises or other storehouse or on a large scale’) of the Russian Criminal Code.

  1. Mamayev, Alexander Arkadiyevich (Father Nikolay), was born on 24 December 1960. A resident of Kaliningrad. A priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, alternative to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. He is charged under Part Two of Article 282.1 (‘Participation in the activities of an extremist organization’) as a member of ‘B.A.R.S.’ (the Baltic Vanguard of the Russian Resistance). He has been held in custody since 27 May 2017.

  1. Navalny, Oleg Anatolyevich, was born in 1983. He is the brother of Alexei Navalny, and a former employee of the Federal Russian Post Office. Mr Navalny was convicted on 30 December 2014 in the Yves Rocher case under Part Three of Art. 159 (‘Swindling on a large scale’) of the Russian Criminal Code, Part Three of Art. 159.4 (‘Swindling on a particularly large scale in the entrepreneurial sphere’), and point ‘a’ of Part Two, Art. 174.1 (‘Laundering of funds on a large scale acquired by a person through a crime committed by him’). He was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony and a fine of 500,000 roubles. He has been in custody since 30 December 2014.

  1. Orshulevich, Alexander Vladimirovich, was born on 26 November 1987. He is charged under Part One of Article 282.1 (‘Organisation of the activities of an extremist organization’) as a member of ‘B.A.R.S.’ (the Baltic Vanguard of the Russian Resistance). He has been held in custody since 27 May 2017.

  1. Parfyonov, Valery Nikolaevich, was born on 3 August 1974. A resident of the city of Moscow, he worked as a systems administrator at the Moscow Unified Energy Company. Mr Parfyonov was charged with committing a crime under Part One of Art. 282.2 (‘Organisation of the activities of an extremist organisation’) of the Russian Criminal Code, for having allegedly pursued the activities of the inter-regional public movement ‘Army of the People’s Will’, banned in Russia in 2010, through the Initiative Group for the Holding of a Referendum ‘For a responsible government’ ‘with the aim of carrying out extremist activities’. On 10 August 2017, he was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony. Mr Parfyonov has been in custody since 28 July 2015.

  1. Parpulov, Petr Ivanovich, was born in 1955. From the 1980s to his detention in 2014, he worked as an air traffic control officer at the civilian airport in Sochi although he had already reached pensionable age. Mr Parpulov was found guilty under Art. 275 (‘High treason’) of the Russian Criminal Code and sentenced to 12 years in a strict-regime penal colony. He has been in custody since 4 March 2014.

  1. Pichugin, Alexei Vladimirovich, was born on 25 July 1962. He is a former head of the department for internal economic security for the Yukos oil company. Two guilty verdicts were delivered against him, in 2005 and 2007, under Art. 162 (‘Robbery’) of the Russian Criminal Code and Art. 105 (‘Murder’). He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a special-regime penal colony. Mr Pichugin has been in custody since 19 June 2003.

  1. Politikov, Alexei Vladimirovich, was born on 10 November 1972. A resident of Ussuriysk in the Primorsky Krai, he worked as a shipping agent and was an activist of the Artpodgotovka movement. He was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony under Part One of Art. 318 (‘Use of force against a representative of the authority’) of the Russian Criminal Code. Mr Politikov has been held in custody since 10 June 2017.

  1. Prysych, Vladimir Sergeyevich, was born on 15 May 1983. A citizen of Ukraine, he resides in the town of Bohoduhiv of the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. He holds a higher education degree. Mr Prysych is married with a daughter. Prior to the arrest, he worked as a cargo truck driver. He was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony under Part Two of Article 228 (‘Illegal storage of narcotic substances on a large scale) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been held in custody since 13 August 2016.

  1. Reznikov, Sergey Petrovich, was born on 25 January 1961. A resident of Moscow, he is the general director of the ‘Demetra-2000 M’ limited liability company. Since 2003, he had been a member of the territorial electoral commission of the district of Prospect Vernadskogo representing the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. On 6 April 2017, he was sentenced to 3 years of general-regime penal colony on charges under Part Two of Art. 228 (‘Illegal storage of narcotic substances on a large scale’) of the Russian Criminal Code. On the same day, he was taken into custody.

  1. Rudnikov, Igor Petrovich, was born on 4 July 1965. A resident of Kaliningrad, he was a member of the Duma of the Kaliningrad region and the editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper ‘Novye kolyosa Igorya Rudnikova’ (Igor Rudnikov’s New Wheels). He is charged under point “b” of Part Three of Article 163 (‘Extortion committed by a group of people by preliminary agreement on a particularly large scale’). He has been held in custody since 1 November 2017.

  1. Safargali, Danis Vildanovich, was born on 5 May 1976. A resident of the town of Arsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, he worked as a captain and a chief engineer of a vessel. He is the leader of the Tatar patriotic front of Altyn Urda. Mr Safargali was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony under Part Two of Art. 115 (‘Intentional infliction of light injury, motivated by hooliganism’) Part Two of Art. 116 (‘Battery, motivated by hooliganism’), Part Two of Art. 213 (‘Hooliganism committed by a group of people by preliminary agreement’), Part One of Art. 282 (‘Incitement of hatred, or abasement of human dignity committed using the Internet’) of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been held in custody since 21 October 2016.

  1. Sentsov, Nikolai Alexandrovich, was born on 18 November 1971. A resident of the town of Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad region, he worked as a chief radio officer and was a civil society activist. He is charged under Part Two of Article 282.1 (‘Participation in the activities of an extremist organization’) as a member of ‘B.A.R.S.’ (the Baltic Vanguard of the Russian Resistance). He has been held in custody since 27 September 2017.

  1. Sentsov, Oleg Gennadyevich, was born on 13 July 1976. A resident of the city of Simferopol, Mr Sentsov is a film director and producer. He was an Automaidan activist and supported the movement for a united Ukraine in Crimea in February-March 2014. Mr Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in a strict-regime penal colony on the charges of crimes envisaged under Part One of Art. 205.4 (‘Organisation of a terrorist group’) of the Russian Criminal Code, two episodes under point ‘a’ of Part Two, Art. 205 (‘Terrorist act committed by an organised group’), Part One of Art. 30 in conjunction with point ‘a’ of Part Two, Art. 205, (‘Preparation of a terrorist act’), Part Three of Art. 30 in conjunction with Part Three of Art. 222 (‘Attempted illegal acquisition of firearms and explosive devices’), and Part Three of Art. 222 (‘Illegal acquisition and storage of firearms and explosive devices’). Mr Sentsov has been in custody since 11 May 2014.

  1. Shishkin, Vitaly Viktorovich, was born on 6 August 1972. He is a Russian citizen and an opposition activist of Russian nationalist persuasion. Mr Shishkin was sentenced to 3 years and 11 months in a general-regime penal colony on charges of committing crimes under Part Three of Art. 212 (‘Appeals for mass riots’) and Part One of Art. 282 (‘Incitement of hatred or enmity’) of the Russian Criminal Code. Mr Shishkin has been in custody since 13 February 2015.

  1. Shpakov, Alexander Yuryevich, was born on 5 July 1977. A resident of the city of Lyubertsy of the Moscow region, he worked as a carpenter. He took part in an anti-corruption rally in the city centre of Moscow on 26 March 2017. On 24 May 2017 he was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony under Part One of Art. 318 (‘Use of force against a representative of the authority’) of the Russian Criminal Code. Mr Shpakov has been held in custody since 28 March 2017.

  1. Smyshlyayev, Maxim Nikolayevich, was born on 22 December 1982. He is a resident of the city of Rostov-on-Don of left persuasions. At the time of his arrest, he worked at a McDonald’s outlet and studied extramurally at the Institute of History and International Relations of the Southern Federal University. He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in a strict-regime penal colony under Part Three of Art. 205.1 (‘Complicity in the preparation of a terrorist act’) of the Russian Criminal Code for having allegedly aided a minor holding the citizenship of Ukraine in the preparation of a terrorist act that did not take place. He has been held in custody since 22 April 2016

  1. Sokolov, Alexander Aleksandrovich, was born on 17 November 1987. A resident of the city of Moscow, he holds a PhD in economics. He was worked as a journalist at the RBC news agency. Mr Sokolov was charged with committing a crime under Part One Art. 282.2 (‘Organisation of the activities of an extremist organisation’) of the Russian Criminal Code for having allegedly pursued the activities of the inter-regional public movement ‘Army of the People’s Will’, banned in Russia in 2010, through the Initiative Group for the Holding of a Referendum ‘For a responsible government’ ‘with the aim of carrying out extremist activities’. On 10 August 2017, he was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony. Mr Sokolov has been in custody since 28 July 2015.

  1. Staroverov, Yury Viktorovich, was born on 14 November 1982. He is an activist of the party ‘The Other Russia’ and a member of the civil movement of Nizhny Novgorod. Mr Staroverov was charged under Part One of Art. 318 (‘Use of force against a representative of the authority’) of the Russian Criminal Code and given a 3-year suspended term with a period of 3 years of probation for having allegedly hit a riot police officer during the dispersal of a civil march on 15 September 2012. On 10 February 2016, the Ostankinsky district court of the city of Moscow replaced the verdict with 3 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony. Mr Staroverov was taken into custody on the same day.

  1. Titiev, Oyub Salmanovich, was born on 24 August 1957. A resident of the village of Kurchaloi in the Chechen Republic, he is the head of the Grozny office of Human Rights Centre Memorial. He is charged under Part Two of Article 228 (Illegal acquisition and storage of narcotic substances on a large scale’). He has been held in custody since 9 January 2018.

  1. Tyumentsev, Vadim Viktorovich, was born on 3 December 1980. A resident of the city of Tomsk, he is a video blogger and a civil society activist. Mr Tyumentsev is charged with committing crimes under Part Two of Art. 280 (‘Public appeals for an extremist activity committed using the Internet’) of the Russian Criminal Code and Part One of Art. 282 (‘Actions aimed at the incitement of enmity, or abasement of human dignity on the basis of their sex, race, nationality, language, origin, attitude to religion and also their affiliation with a social group.’). Mr Tyumentsev has been in custody since 28 April 2015.

  1. Zagreev, Robert Raufanovich, was born on 3 July 1964. A resident of the city of Ufa in the Republic of Bashkortostan, he is a journalist and an opposition politician. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison in a strict-regime penal colony on charges of crimes under Part One of Art. 205.2 (‘Public appeals for terrorist activity’) of the Russian Criminal Code. Mr Zagreev was under house arrest from 27 April to 22 May 2015, and has been in custody since 29 October 2015.

  1. Zimovets, Stanislav Sergeyevich, was born in 14 April 1985. A resident of the town of Volzhsky of the Volgograd region, he holds an incomplete higher education degree. He served as a combat engineer in Chechnya and he was not officially employed. Mr Zimovets was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony under Part One of Art. 318 (‘Use of force against a representative of the authority’). He has been held in custody since 1 April 2017.