Reacting to the launch of criminal proceedings against exiled opposition figures and members of the Anti-War Committee of Russia - a leading umbrella initiative of Russia's anti-war movement in exile - on terrorism-related charges Marie Struthers, Amnesty International's Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

"The criminal case against the Anti-War Committee is the Russian authorities' latest attempt to target activists abroad as well as at home. It makes any association with the Committee from within Russia extremely dangerous and puts those who maintain such contacts, including colleagues and family members, at risk of arbitrary searches, arrests and lengthy prison sentences."

"Branding advocacy against Russia's criminal war in Ukraine as 'terrorism' turns reality upside down. It's a move designed purely to instill fear and to erase the space for solidarity between Russians with anti-war views inside the country, and those forced into exile.

"The Russian authorities must immediately drop these absurd charges and end the misuse of terrorism-related, state security and 'undesirable organizations' legislation to silence dissent. The international community must urgently step up its efforts to support and protect Russian anti-war initiatives and individuals who continue to speak out against the war."

Background

On 14 October, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that it had initiated criminal proceedings against prominent exiled opposition figures including members of the Anti-War Committee of Russia. The charges have been brought in absentia against its 23 members including former prisoners of conscience Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Anastasia Shevchenko, as well as Russia's former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, along with "other unidentified persons," suggesting that the list of the accused may be open-ended.

They are being investigated for attempting "violent seizure of power" (Article 278 of the Criminal Code) and "organization of a terrorist community" (Article 205.4(1 and 2), offences carrying potential life sentences. The Anti-War Committee was established by prominent Russian political émigrés in 2022. The FSB alleged that its objective is "changing the constitutional order" of Russia and "seizing power by force." The organization was designated as "undesirable" by the Russian authorities in January 2024, a move that outlawed it and prohibited any collaboration with it inside Russia.

A separate criminal case has also been opened against Mikhail Khodorkovsky under Article 205.2(2) for "public calls to carry out terrorist activities."