Release Daria Egereva, Imprisoned for Advocating for Indigenous Rights

On December 17, 2025, Russian special services arrested Daria Egereva, a member of the Selkup Indigenous Peoples from the Tomsk region of Russia, on charges of “terrorism.” The next day, the court decided to detain her in custody for two months. Her next hearing is scheduled for the end of February and could deprive her of her freedom for up to 20 years. Egereva is a prominent Indigenous human rights defender and climate activist. She is a leading figure in international Indigenous advocacy, notably as the Co-Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC).

As Cultural Survival highlighted in 2025, Russian Federation authorities have intensified pressure, repression, and political persecution of human rights defenders, especially representatives of Indigenous Peoples who are vocal about the problems they face and defend their rights at national and international levels.

Egereva became a target for her work as a human rights defender. For many years, she has participated in high-level UN meetings, where she repeatedly spoke out and defended the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their right to a traditional ways of life; support for their Native languages; Free, Prior and Informed Consent; and the need for urgent measures to address the problems associated with the effects of climate change on Indigenous territories.

In 2023, the International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change elected Egereva as co-chair. In this role, she led the participation of Indigenous Peoples at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP 30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belém, Brazil, and less than a month after it ended, she was arrested on terrorism charges.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katsarova, notes an increase in repression and the abuse of laws on “terrorism” and “extremism” for politically motivated persecution and authoritarian control. She points out that Russia's Indigenous Peoples remain among the most vulnerable groups and suffer from legislation on “foreign agents,” “undesirable organizations,” “extremism,” and “terrorism.” 

In 2024, the Supreme Court recognized 172 organizations associated with ethnic minorities or Indigenous Peoples as “terrorists.” Among these organizations was the Aboriginal Forum, an informal group of experts, leaders, and activists representing Russia's Indigenous Peoples, which analyzed existing legislation and protected the rights, interests, and cultures of Indigenous Peoples. This group has never been involved in any extremist or terrorist activities, its members have never committed acts of violence, and its activities have been peaceful in nature and in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. Moreover, this expert group has long since ceased to exist. 

It is precisely her involvement in the “Aboriginal Forum” that Russian security services are using against human rights activist Daria Egereva, accusing her of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.

Security service representatives conducted searches and confiscation of all equipment from at least 17 activists representing Indigenous Peoples in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, Murmansk, and Kemerovo regions, Altai and Krasnoyarsk territories, the Republic of Altai, and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), which indicates planned actions against human rights defenders of Indigenous Peoples in Russia.

In 2025, in Russia, three times more convictions were handed down in political cases than in 2021, and legislation is changing towards repression. In 2024, cases related to freedom of expression accounted for half of all politically motivated prosecutions. 

The systematic criminalization and discrimination against the peaceful activities of human rights defenders continues, with the legitimate exercise of human rights being treated as a “existential security threats” and such individuals being portrayed as “enemies of the State” to justify and intensify broader repression was documented in a report by Marian Katsarov, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation.

Cultural Survival demands the immediate release of activist Daria Egereva, the dropping of all charges against her, and an end to the criminalization and persecution of other Indigenous activists in Russia.

We call on the UN System, UN Human Rights Mechanisms, and the international community to support the demand for the immediate release of Daria Egereva.

We call on the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders to send urgent communications directly to the Russian government, demanding the release of Daria Egereva.

Photo courtesy of iisd.org.

Source: Cultural Survival