APPEL URGENT : Mass Repression and Ill-Treatment of Juvenile Political Prisoners in the Russian Federation

Subject: Mass Repression and Ill-Treatment of Juvenile Political Prisoners in the Russian Federation

Date: May 2026

Situation Overview:

Over the course of 2025, the Russian Federation saw an unprecedented tenfold increase in the number of minors added to Rosfinmonitoring's "terrorist and extremist" registry. While 36 teenagers were listed in December 2024, their number reached 373 by early 2026 (including 14- and 15-year-old children). Since 2022, minors have accounted for 10% of all convictions under "terrorism" statutes and every fourth conviction under the "sabotage" (diversiya) statute.

The vast majority of these cases were triggered by property damage, such as setting fire to railway relay cabinets or cell towers. Thus, they struggle for peace through resistance against the authoritarian state and its unleashed war. Yet, in several instances, they also become victims of entrapment by Russian security services seeking to 'boost crime-solving statistics.

Until recently, such actions were generally classified as hooliganism. Teenagers are being sentenced to disproportionately harsh prison terms, averaging between 6 and 9 years. These children are held in closed special boarding schools and educational colonies that are entirely isolated from the outside world, completely shielded from independent public oversight, and notorious for extreme levels of violence and institutional abuse.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Please write a letter to the Russian authorities. Below is a ready-to-use template. You can copy it, add your signature, and send it via regular mail or through the official online portals listed below.

Recipients:

1. Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation

• To: Igor Viktorovich Krasnov

• Address: 15a Bolshaya Dmitrovka St., Bldg. 1, Moscow, Russian Federation, 125993

• Online Portal: epp.genproc.gov.ru

2. High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation

• To: Tatiana Nikolaevna Moskalkova

• Address: 19 Smolensky Boulevard, Bldg. 2, Moscow, Russian Federation, 119121

• Online Portal: ombudsmanrf.org

We also highly recommend sending copies of your letters to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in your respective country.

LETTER TEMPLATE

Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov / Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova Office of the Prosecutor General / Office of the Human Rights Commissioner Moscow, Russian Federation Dear Prosecutor General, / Dear Commissioner,

I am writing to express my deepest concern regarding the catastrophic surge in criminal prosecutions and draconian sentences handed down to minors in the Russian Federation under charges of "terrorism" and "sabotage" (Articles 205 and 281 of the Criminal Code of the RF).

According to available data, the number of teenagers included in the Rosfinmonitoring registry has increased tenfold over the past year, now exceeding 370 individuals. Children aged 14 to 17 (including Pavel Khazov, Kosmos Nevolainen, and dozens of others) are receiving unprecedentedly harsh sentences ranging from 6 to 9 years in prison for actions that often resulted in no real danger or severe consequences. Human rights organizations note that in many instances, these actions were the direct result of deliberate entrapment by security service personnel.

Of particular alarm is the total opacity of special boarding schools and juvenile colonies, which remain completely closed to independent public oversight. Depriving children of contact with the outside world, withholding adequate medical care, and permitting high levels of violence within these facilities constitute grave violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, both ratified by your country.

Therefore, I urgently call upon you to:

1. Review all criminal cases involving minors convicted of "sabotage" and "terrorism" to ensure proportionality of sentencing, verify the absence of entrapment by law enforcement agencies, and guarantee the right to a fair trial.

2. Ensure unimpeded access for independent observers, attorneys, and human rights defenders to closed special boarding schools and juvenile educational colonies to inspect the living conditions of the children.

3. Guarantee the absolute protection of juvenile inmates from all forms of physical and psychological abuse, and provide them with full access to education and qualified healthcare.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this critical matter. I will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Sincerely,

First and Last Name: ____________________________

Country / Address: ___________________________

Signature: ______________