Elena Popova is a political prisoner
An activist from Rostov, was convicted of treason and sentenced to serve 12 years in a penal colony for donating 7,000 roubles to Arkady Babchenko
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Elena Popova a political prisoner. Popova was convicted of treason for transferring money to support the Ukrainian armed forces. Popova’s criminal prosecution and conviction violated her right to fair trial. We demand the release of Elena Popova and that all criminal charges against her be dropped.
What were the charges against Elena Popova?
Since the early 2010s, Elena Popova, a resident of Rostov-on-Don, took part in protests, worked as an election observer and made charitable donations.
On 27 February 2022, three days after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Popova made a donation of 7,000 roubles in support of the Ukrainian army. It is believed she transferred the money to a bank account belonging to the journalist Arkady Babchenko, who had been added to the official Russian register of extremists and terrorists and was, at that time, raising funds to support the Ukrainian armed forces.
In the summer of 2023, Popova was dismissed from her job at the Southern Branch of Russia’s Central Bank. On 8 September, her home and that of her parents were searched and she was detained. After 35 days of consecutive administrative-law jail terms on charges of petty hooliganism, she was charged with treason (Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code).
On 30 October 2024, a court sentenced Elena Popova to 12 years in a general regime penal colony and a fine of 500,000 roubles.
Why do we consider Elena Popova a political prisoner?
Elena Popova was charged with treason for ‘providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation.’ Even if her monetary transfer did in fact support the Ukrainian armed forces, we do not believe this posed a threat to Russia’s security. Russia’s security is threatened by the actions of the country’s leadership and the war of aggression they launched against Ukraine, a war condemned by the international community.
The charge on which Popova was prosecuted requires clear evidence of direct intent to harm the security of Russia. We doubt the investigators were able to prove such intent on Popova’s part. Popova’s consistent civic position and history of charitable activity suggest that her aim was most likely to help Ukraine defend itself from aggression.
According to media reports, Popova is alleged to have sent money to Russian citizen Arkady Babchenko, a private individual. Babchenko is not ‘a foreign state, a foreign or international organisation or its representative,’ as required for an offence under this article of the Russian Criminal Code. If indeed Popova did send money to Babchenko, there are therefore serious doubts as to whether the charges were proved. Investigators would be required to show that the money Popova transferred to Babchenko’s personal account was indeed intended for the Ukrainian army. We doubt they succeeded in doing this.
A detailed description of the case of Elena Popova and of our position is available on our website.
Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with, or approves of, their views, statements, or actions.
How can you help?
You can write to Elena Popova at the following address:
RU: 622042, Свердловская область, Нижний Тагил, ул. Западная, д. 3а, ФКУ ИК-6 ГУФСИН России по Свердловской области, Поповой Елене Сергеевне 1988 г. р.
EN: Elena Sergeevna Popova (born 1988), Penal Colony No. 6, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Sverdlovsk Oblast, 3a Zapadnaya Street, Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk Oblast, 622042, Russia.
You can also send emails via the ZT service (for payment with Russian bank cards), OVD-Info and Memorial-France (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.
You can follow Elena Popova’s case on the Telegram channel of her support group.
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
