A Russian military court sentenced a defected soldier to 23 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of 590,000 rubles (approximately $7,500), according to local media. Anton Hozhaev faced charges of “performance management” of a terrorist organization, treason, legalization of funds obtained by criminal means, and defection.  Hozhaev attended military school until he resigned in [...]

The Moscow court sentenced on Tuesday a father of five to three years of imprisonment on the charges of financing a terrorist organization. Dmitry Marsov was arrested in April this year for donating to the Anti-Corruption Foundation once a month from August to December 2021, totaling 1500 rubles (approximately $20). The Anti-Corruption Foundation, an organization [...]

Moscow’s Military Court sentenced a Russian writer to 14 years of imprisonment in absentia on Monday for failing to follow “foreign agent” regulations, facilitating terroristic activity, and justifying terrorism. Writer Boris Akunin, whose real name is Grigori Chkhartishvili, was also fined 400,000 rubles (approximately $5,000), prohibited from managing webpages for four years following the end [...]

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia on Wednesday condemned the detention of a human rights lawyer from Kaliningrad, saying her arrest appeared to be retaliation for defending political prisoners. The case centers on Maria Bontsler, a 64-year-old human rights lawyer with a chronic medical condition. Rapporteur Mariana Katzarova said in a statement [...]

Russian election watchdog group Golos announced Tuesday of termination of its work, citing the sentencing of Grigory Melkonyants, an election expert, as a core reason. In 2013, the Ministry of Justice identified Golos, which had operated in Russia since the early 2000s, as a “foreign agent.” In the declaration, Golos shared that it only recently [...]

A Saint Petersburg court announced a case Tuesday against the bookstore Подписные издания (Subscription Editions) on charges of “LGBTQA+ propaganda.” No information is available yet regarding the reasons for the charges. On its website, the bookstore shares that it has been open since 1926, with photos that capture the involvement of the store with the [...]

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs placed Nikolai Polozov, a lawyer currently residing in Ukraine, and Alla Konstantinova, a journalist with the dissident news website Mediazona, on a wanted list on Friday, according to local media. Both individuals have previously been marked as “foreign agents.” Charges against Polozov are not known yet. In December 2024, [...]

Russia became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan on Thursday, according to local media, with the Taliban flag being raised at the Afghan embassy in Moscow. Earlier this year, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations, citing “the need for cooperation in combating drug trafficking and terrorism, [...]

Darina Boykova is a 2L at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. Last week she attended the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on assignment for JURIST. This is the second part of a two-part report. The first part of her report is here. The arrival of the leaders on the first day of the [...]

Darina Boykova is a 2L at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. Last week she attended the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on assignment for JURIST. This is the first part of a two-part report.  Last week in beautiful and sunny Kananaskis was distinguished by Canada’s hosting of the G7 Summit. Besides the leaders [...]