A new letter from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) raises serious concerns about the use of anti-extremism legislation against human rights defenders and civil society representatives working on Indigenous Peoples’ rights in Russia. Although the Committee does not mention Daria Egereva or Natalia Leongardt by name, its concerns are directly relevant to the circumstances of their prosecution.

On December 17, 2025, Russia launched a large-scale operation against independent representatives of Indigenous Peoples. Searches and interrogations were carried out against at least 17 activists in ten regions. Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt were detained. Seven months later, their case had become one of the most prominent international cases involving the persecution of Indigenous human rights defenders — and a symbol of what can happen to those who speak about Indigen

An English-language Wikipedia article dedicated to the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) now includes a separate section on Daria Egereva, the Forum’s co-chair, a member of the Selkup people and an Indigenous rights defender currently detained in Russia.

German investigative outlet CORRECTIV has published an investigation into the growing repression of Indigenous rights activists in Russia, focusing on the cases of Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt and the criminalization of the “Aborigen Forum.”

Today, Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt remain behind bars — people who spent years defending the interests of Indigenous communities and working for their future. Instead of recognition for this work, they are being held in pre-trial detention, accused of “participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.” They face between 10 and 20 years in prison.

A day for all indigenous peoples: their languages, their lands, their knowledge, their right to decide their own destiny. Daria Egereva and Natalia Leonhardt should be celebrating it with their communities. Instead, they are in custody for their work, which has always been peaceful.

For more than seven months, Indigenous leaders, human rights defenders, environmental activists, and allies around the world have been speaking out in support of Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt.

Daria Egereva will remain in pre-trial detention until March 15. This decision was made today by the Basmanny District Court of Moscow.