Indigenous Russia: Darya Egereva was recognized as a political prisoner

The human rights project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial," guided by international criteria, has recognized Daria Egereva as a political prisoner .

According to human rights activists, she is being prosecuted under a criminal article on participation in the activities of a terrorist organization for her alleged involvement in the "Forum of Free States of Post-Russia," which has been designated a terrorist organization in the country. Human rights activists believe the criminal prosecution violates her rights to freedom of self-determination, freedom of association, and a fair trial, and they demand her release and the dismissal of the criminal case.

Daria Egereva is a defender of the rights of the Selkup people, an indigenous people of northern Western Siberia, a co-chair of the International Indigenous Forum on Climate Change, and a member of the UN Indigenous Peoples' Coordinating Body.

Egereva is charged under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code (participation in the activities of a terrorist organization). The organization's name was not officially disclosed in the case file, but human rights activists believe it may involve cooperation with the "Forum of Free States of Post-Russia." The maximum penalty under this article is up to 20 years in prison.

As noted on the project website,

"Equating the protection of the rights and interests of indigenous peoples with terrorism is absurd. Attacks on indigenous activists for their public work are the latest round of repression and suppression of dissent in Russia."

The understanding of the term “political prisoner” in the draft is based on Resolution No. 1900 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (2012).

Political prisoners comprise two categories of individuals subject to criminal prosecution for political reasons. The first are individuals persecuted solely for exercising their civil rights, their beliefs, or their membership in a particular group (Amnesty International refers to these individuals as prisoners of conscience). The second are individuals persecuted through significant violations of the law or selectively, where the authorities have a political motive.

Today, February 17, marks two months since the FSB conducted searches and investigative actions against activists of Russia's indigenous peoples.

Source