The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has sent an official communication to the Russian authorities concerning new laws and practices that severely restrict the rights of indigenous peoples.

With this communication, the Committee has spotlighted a long, steady erosion of the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Russia

"Publicity is protection. International attention can save lives," participants emphasized, adding that silence under such conditions amounts to complicity.

On April 29, the Moscow City Court reviewed appeals against the extension of the pre-trial detention of Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt. The hearing took place in the appellate building of the court. Both defendants participated via video link from Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 6. Earlier, on March 12, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow had extended their detention until June 15, 2026. The defense lawyers requested that the measure of restraint be changed to house arr

An exhibition with the striking title “Resistance Behind Bars” has opened in Strasbourg. It is not just an art display, but an attempt to give a voice to those who have been deprived of their freedom — and of the right to be heard.

On April 25–26, the Second Global Indigenous Peacebuilding Summit took place in New York, held alongside the session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The event brought together more than 150 Indigenous representatives from dozens of countries — including community leaders, women, youth, mediators, and human rights defenders. Its main goal was to strengthen the role of Indigenous peoples in global processes of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. P

The Moscow City Court has upheld the extension of pre-trial detention for Daria Egereva and Natalya Leongardt, who are accused of participating in a terrorist organization.

“The use of criminal law has become a tool to suppress lawful activism.”

Participants presented reports to Mariana Katzarova on systemic human rights violations in Russia, including the persecution of activists, pressure on civil society, and restrictions on freedom of expression.

First, he addressed how Russia uses the Forum. In recent years, positive narratives about companies like Nornickel were presented with the support of the government and RAIPON. In reality, communities remain without basic services and face displacement.

During the conversation, the participants focused on the cases of Daria Egereva and Natalya Leongardt, as well as on the broader trend of persecution of Indigenous human rights defenders in Russia.

The lawyer also notes that defenders of Indigenous rights have always been "inconvenient" not only for officials and law enforcement.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and 104 other human rights organisations have joined the call for the immediate release of Indigenous climate leader Daria Egereva and human rights defender Natalia Leongardt, held in pre-trial detention in Russia under unfounded charges of terrorism since December 2025.

Daria Egereva was supposed to be in New York next week. The Indigenous Selkup climate advocate was expected to return to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, where two years ago she spoke about how Indigenous peoples are confronting environmental degradation and climate change. Instead, this year she is in a Russian jail, facing up to 20 years in prison on terrorism charges.

The Moscow City Court has scheduled a hearing to consider appeals against the extension of pre-trial detention for Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt.

UN Special Rapporteurs on Thursday condemned an ongoing strategy by Russian authorities to silence dissent, human rights advocacy, and anti-war expression. They warned that this represents a “systematic dismantling” of civil society under the guise of protecting national security and public safety.

A Russian court has remanded a second Indigenous rights defender in custody as part of a widening case linked to the banned activist network known as the ‘Aborigen Forum’. Natalya Leongardt, a 58-year-old specialist on the rights of Indigenous peoples in Russia’s North, Siberia and Far East, was detained on Dec. 17, 2025, and ordered into pre-trial detention the following day by Moscow’s Basmanny District Court, according to rights organizations and media reports.

United Nations Special Rapporteurs have issued a strong condemnation of what they describe as an escalating and deliberate campaign by Russian authorities to silence dissent, criminalise anti-war expression, and dismantle independent civil society, under the pretext of safeguarding national security.

The international organization Amnesty International has called on the Russian authorities to immediately release Indigenous representative Daria Egereva and to drop all criminal charges against her, launching a global letter-writing campaign addressed to the country’s leadership.

Photo by Indigenous Russia Indigenous activist and representative of the small-numbered Selkup people of Siberia, Daria Egereva , has been charged with participation in a terrorist organization as part of a large criminal case involving ten individuals and “other persons.” This is stated in an appellate ruling by the Moscow City Court, as reported by Mediazona . Egereva was detained and placed in custody in December last year. At the time, decolonial activists reported that