Navalny-founded Anti-Corruption Foundation proposes sanctions relief for repeal of Russian laws used to prosecute anti-war speech and criticism of the military
The Anti-Corruption Foundation has proposed easing sanctions on Russia in return for Russian authorities repealing repressive laws and dropping politically motivated criminal cases.
The proposal came in response to reports that the U.S. administration is considering easing restrictions on Russia in exchange for the release of political prisoners.
The foundation said “such negotiations should not be limited to lists of individual names” because not all politically motivated cases become public. A complete list of political prisoners in Russia is impossible to compile, and Russian authorities could open new politically motivated criminal investigations after releasing some prisoners.
We therefore propose a different approach: sanctions relief should be tied not only to the release of individual prisoners, but also to the repeal of repressive provisions in Russian law and the termination of entire categories of politically motivated criminal cases.
Decriminalizing Articles 207.3 and 280.3 of the Russian Criminal Code, commonly known as the laws on “military fakes” and “discrediting the army,” would mean releasing those convicted under these provisions, terminating ongoing proceedings, and preventing any new cases from being brought on these grounds. The same principle should apply to politically motivated prosecutions under laws on “extremism,” “financing extremism,” “justifying terrorism,” and similar provisions when peaceful political activity, donations, speech, and beliefs are treated as criminal offenses.
The Atlantic recently reported that John Coale, a special envoy for the U.S. president, proposed easing sanctions on Russia in exchange for the release of political prisoners. He previously secured the release of about 500 political prisoners in Belarus in exchange for sanctions relief. According to the magazine, U.S. President Donald Trump approved the idea of doing the same in Russia.
The Kremlin, however, said the idea “had not been discussed and could not have been discussed” between Moscow and Washington. “We categorically deny that there are any political prisoners and consider it completely inappropriate to frame the issue this way,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The list of Russian political prisoners maintained by the human rights organization “Political Prisoner Support. Memorial” currently includes 1,368 names.
From Meduza’s archives
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.