On 8 April, St. Petersburg City Court handed down sentences of up to 12 years in prison to six young people whose only crime was opposing war and repression. Anna Arkhipova received 12 years. Yan Ksenzhepolsky 11. Vasily Neustroev 10. Pavel Sinelnikov 7 years and 6 months. Evgeny Zateev and Valentin Khoroshenin 6 years and 2 months each. They were convicted of creating an “extremist community.”

These six were not members of the Vesna movement. They were detained on 6 June 2023, following Vesna’s nation-wide anti-war protests, and held in pre-trial detention for over two years. They were convicted this week for exercising rights protected under international law: freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

Vesna is a youth democratic movement founded in 2013 with the goal of building a Russia based on freedom and human rights. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it was designated a foreign agent, then an extremist organisation. Opposing war became a criminal act. The six defendants were prosecuted under that designation despite having no membership in the movement.

This prosecution violates Russia’s obligations under international human rights law. Political Prisoners Memorial has designated all six as political prisoners. Amnesty International has designated five of them as prisoners of conscience and demands their immediate and unconditional release.

Anna Arkhipova, writing from prison, still dreams of “a country where human rights are respected, where power serves the people, not the other way around.” This is what these young people were convicted for.

What happened in St. Petersburg’s courtroom this week is state policy. Criminalising dissent and prosecuting those who demand accountability is how the Kremlin sustains authoritarian rule. This verdict is part of a systematic pattern of political persecution that has intensified since 2022.

Europe’s silence has consequences. Every time repression goes unanswered, it continues. The EU must go beyond monitoring. Sanctions, public condemnation, and diplomatic pressure are tools that exist for moments like this. They must be used.

JEF Europe stands in full solidarity with the six defendants and all those detained for political opposition in Russia. We call on European institutions, governments, and civil society to demand their immediate release and name this for what it is: political persecution.

 

This statement is based on the resolution “Countering Russian interference and aggression: EU policy towards the Russian Federation”.

For questions, please reach out to Nea-Maria Törmänen.