The Khoroshevsky District Court in Moscow has sentenced Lev Ponomarev, an 84-year-old human rights activist, in absentia to five and a half years in prison, the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reported.
Ponomarev was found guilty of running the operations of an “undesirable” organization and of evading his obligations as a so-called “foreign agent.” The judge also banned him from administering websites for nine years.
The “undesirable” organization charge stemmed from the Andrei Sakharov Institute, which Ponomarev founded in Paris in November 2022. Russia’s Justice Ministry declared the institute “undesirable” in the summer of 2024. Ponomarev continued to organize the distribution of its materials anyway — materials the indictment said were “aimed at fostering protest sentiment and discrediting the Russian authorities.”
The second charge arose from his refusal to attach the required “foreign agent” disclaimer to his publications.
The Andrei Sakharov Institute says its goals are to support Russian civil society amid repression, assist political refugees and deserters from Russia, and provide a platform for expert discussion about ending the war and building democracy in Russia.
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 [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.
