Russia must free human rights defender Alexey Sokolov arrested for posting Facebook logo: UN experts

GENEVA – Russia must immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender, Alexey Sokolov, and drop the criminal charges against him, UN experts* said today.

Sokolov is a human rights defender from Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk region, who has been arbitrarily detained since 5 July 2024 on accusations of “repeated demonstration of extremist symbols”, specifically for displaying the Facebook logo online. In March 2022, a Moscow court banned Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, from operating in Russia for its “extremist activities” and allowing “fake news” about the Russian army in Ukraine on its channels.

“Alexey Sokolov’s work has been crucial to highlighting abuses within Russian detention facilities, particularly continuing torture and ill-treatment of detainees and prisoners,” the experts said. “His arrest on charges of displaying the Facebook logo on his organisation’s website and Telegram channel, violate his right to freedom of opinion and expression and appears to be the latest in a series of attempts by the Russian authorities to punish him for his legitimate and peaceful human rights work defending prisoner rights in Russia.”

Sokolov, who heads the NGO “Pravovaya Osnova” (Legal Basis) and former member of the Public monitoring commission of places of detention in Sverdlovsk region, dedicated his life to addressing human rights violations in places of detention in Russia. In 2015, the organisation was deemed a “foreign agent” by the authorities. Despite constant harassment and intimidation, he continued to advocate for prisoners’ rights and expose torture and ill-treatment within the penitentiary system.

During his arrest, on 5 July, law enforcement officials raided Sokolov’s apartment in Yekaterinburg, and subjected him to beatings and threats while searching the premises. They seized documents authorising Sokolov to represent victims before UN treaty bodies. Photos of these documents were later published in a pro-government Telegram channel alleging that Sokolov was part of a “foreign intelligence network”.

“The police search of a human rights defender’s home and the seizure of confidential documents, signed by victims of human rights violations, which allow for their complaints to be represented before UN human rights mechanisms and these documents later publicised as “evidence” for his link to foreign security services, raise serious concerns about Alexey Sokolov being subjected to reprisals for cooperation with the UN, potentially deterring others from engaging with UN mechanisms,” said the experts.

“The arbitrary arrest and detention of Alexey Sokolov is another example of the severe clampdown on freedom of opinion and expression in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,” the experts said. “This crackdown is targeting activities of civil society organisations, human rights defenders, independent media and dissenting voices in Russia with the aim of silencing human rights advocacy and anti-war expression.”

They called on Russian authorities to end intimidation and reprisals against those who seek to cooperate with UN human rights bodies and mechanisms. “Russia must put safeguards in place to prevent future reprisals.”

An appeal challenging Sokolov’s pre-trial detention was lodged on 11 July, and no hearing date has yet been set. The experts have already contacted the Government on Sokolov’s case on 23 July 2024.