Moscow prosecutors seek criminal charges against prominent human rights activist Anna Karetnikova
Moscow’s Lefortovsky Interdistrict Prosecutor’s Office has gathered materials to open a criminal case against human rights activist Anna Karetnikova.
Prosecutors said she is suspected of “evading the obligations of a foreign agent” and “participating in the activities of an extremist organization.”
According to prosecutors, Karetnikova, whom Russian authorities designated a foreign agent, distributed materials outside Russia without the required “foreign agent” disclaimer and had previously received administrative fines for it:
Karetnikova, as a member of an organization that a court has ruled extremist and banned from operating in Russia, also systematically distributes materials on the organization’s behalf and takes deliberate steps to help ensure it continues operating.
The prosecutor’s statement does not specify which “extremist organization” is meant, though Karetnikova has worked with the human rights group Memorial for more than 20 years. Russian authorities designated Memorial an “extremist organization” in April 2026.
There have been no previous reports of criminal cases over cooperation with Memorial.
Anna Karetnikova is one of Russia’s best-known human rights activists. In addition to her work with Memorial, with which she has collaborated since 2002, Karetnikova spent eight years working on Moscow’s Public Monitoring Commission (ONK). Starting in 2016, she also served as the lead analyst in the Moscow department of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service. Karetnikova was removed from that position in January 2023, after which she left Russia.
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