RUSSIA: Sentenced to prison for criticizing the President, state bodies & their policies
How the anti-terrorist legislation is abused in Russian military courts
By Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (03.09.2026) – In February 2026, several Russian citizens were prosecuted on the basis of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: “Public calls for terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism.”
We present hereafter three recent cases publicized by OVD-Info and Mediazona, two organizations working now from outside Russia but with an active network of lawyers and human rights defenders inside their country.
Case 1: Additional six years in prison for Navalny’s ex-photographer
Экс-фотографу штаба Навального увеличили срок из-за пожелания смерти Путину
On 26 February 2026, the 2nd Western District Military Court issued a second sentence against photographer Alexander Strukov, sentencing him to 6 years in prison on charges of calling for terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code).
The reason for Strukov’s next criminal prosecution was his statement in the courtroom in 2023 after the announcement of the verdict in the first criminal case. Strukov shouted: “Glory to Ukraine! Death to Putin!” State prosecutor Svetlana Tarasova insisted that wishing death to Putin was a call for terrorist activity.
In February 2026, in court, Strukov said that he was not ashamed of his words and did not admit guilt. “This is a political statement guaranteeing the end of the war, not implying real action,” he said.
Strukov has been imprisoned since January 2022. The first repressive sentence against him was handed down in November 2023. He was convicted for commenting on the Telegram channel of the Znak.com publication, in which he wrote, in particular: “Glory to Ukraine”, “Down with the power of the Chekists”, “Good morning everyone, down with Putin!”. This became the basis for qualifying his actions as calls for terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) and incitement to hatred (Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code).
It should also be noted that, according to OVD-INFO, Strukov is being harassed in the colony where he is serving his sentence. He was repeatedly placed in a prison punishment cell, which is used as an instrument of pressure. His detention conditions are considered the harshest in the prison system. Despite the fact that Strukov has asthma and chronic bronchitis, he was sent to mandatory work on the production of tiles. After that, he developed inflammation on his face, hands and feet.
Case 2: A two-year prison sentence for a left-wing student
В Петербурге студента приговорили к реальному сроку из-за выступления на собрании левых активистов
On 11 February 2026, the 1st Western District Military Court sentenced political science student Garry Azaryan to two years in prison on charges of justification of terrorism (Part 1 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) in “the case of the Trotskyist students” , according to “Bumaga”.
On 6 January 2025, Harry Azarian, a 23-year-old political scientist student and a citizen of Kazakhstan, made a speech at the Working Power Congress, a meeting of left-wing activists, in St Petersburg.
He was arrested on 16 May 2025 and remanded in custody pending trial. His comrades suspect that there may have been an agent provocateur in the organization.
In court, Azaryan pleaded guilty and “repented.” His lawyer asked for a fine to be imposed and the student’s father said he was ready to pay it.
The nearly eight months he spent in pretrial detention could be taken into consideration to reduce his sentence.
In January 2026, he was released from the pre-trial detention center under a ban on certain actions due to the reclassification of the charge.
Mediazona found out that he was accused of justifying terrorism because of his speech at a meeting of left-wing activists with arguments about class hatred and violence. A source familiar with the content of his speech told Mediazona that the young man “essentially repeated the Marxist view” on the development of society: the growth of contradictions and discontent sooner or later leads to revolutions, and they rarely do so without violence.
Case 3: An oncologist sentenced to 5 years ½
An oncologist from St. Petersburg was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison because of calls to hang the Russian leadership
Онколога из Петербурга осудили на 5,5 лет колонии из-за призывов повесить российское руководство
On 4 February 2026, the 1st Western District Military Court found Yegor Voshchinin, a 51-year-old doctor at the Petrov Oncology Center, guilty of calling for terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the press service of the courts of St. Petersburg. He was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison with a ban on publishing on the Internet for 2 years.
Voshchinin has been in custody since July 2025. Before his arrest, he was responsible for four children and a disabled father.
The reason for his persecution was the publication of comments in Telegram in 2023-2024. As the press service of the court reported, Voshchinin called for “hanging the Russian leadership”. During one of the court hearings, it had been noted that the State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and President Vladimir Putin were mentioned in these comments.
About Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code
This article of the Criminal Code provides for criminal liability for:
- public calls for terrorist activities;
- public justification of terrorism – a public statement on the recognition of the ideology of terrorism;
- propaganda of terrorism is the activity of disseminating materials and (or) information aimed at forming in a person the ideology of terrorism, conviction in its attractiveness or the idea of the admissibility of terrorist activity.
Noteworthy is that Part 2 of Article 205.2 separately provides for tougher liability for the above actions, if the crime is committed with the help of the media, electronic or information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet.
The qualification of incitement, public justification, and justification of terrorism is based on the concept of terrorism (terrorist activity) defined by law, namely, the commission of at least one of the crimes provided for in a number of articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, including:
– an act of terrorism,
- hostage-taking,
- organizing an illegal armed formation or participating in it,
- vehicle theft,
- illicit trafficking in nuclear materials,
- encroaching on the life of the state or on public figures,
- forcible seizure or retention of power,
- armed rebellion,
- acts of international terrorism.
Conclusions
Law enforcement practice shows that Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has received the most widespread and problematic application as a tool for criminal prosecution of persons expressing disagreement with state policy. In practice, the grounds for initiating criminal cases are often publications on social networks, comments, reposts, as well as oral public statements that do not contain calls for violence, but are interpreted by the investigating authorities as justification or propaganda of terrorism.
The implementation of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was predominantly used in the cases identified and collected by the Russian OVD-Info and Mediazona in February 2026. An analysis of these cases allows us to identify abusive trends in the broad interpretation of criminal law norms and to question their compliance with the international standards.
