A group of imprisoned Russian dissidents has issued a collective letter to world leaders, urging them to prioritize the release of over 10,000 political prisoners in Russia and Ukrainian civilians detained by Russian forces as a critical condition in any peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, according to a Reuters report on Thursday.
The letter, published in full by Reuters, was signed by 11 individuals, including activists, poets, and a local politician. They estimate that “at least 10,000” Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilian hostages are currently held in Russian jails.
“We are all punished for expressing our civic beliefs,” the letter states.
The signatories highlight that since 2012, Russia has enacted over 100 laws to suppress dissent, with more than 60 introduced since February 2022. They also note that national human rights institutions have been significantly weakened.
“In politically motivated cases in Russia, acquittals are nonexistent,” the letter says. “Punishments are increasingly severe, with 10-, 15-, or 20-year sentences becoming commonplace.”
Among the prominent signatories is Alexey Gorinov, a 63-year-old former municipal deputy who was the first to be jailed under wartime censorship laws after calling for a minute of silence for victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2023. He later received an additional three-year sentence in November 2024 following a denunciation by a fellow inmate.
The youngest signatory, 19-year-old Darya Kozyreva, was imprisoned this year for placing flowers and a handwritten excerpt of a poem by 19th-century Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko at a St. Petersburg monument.
The letter calls for both sides in the Russia-Ukraine negotiations to immediately implement an “all-for-all” exchange of prisoners of war and civilians, including Ukrainian hostages.
Yelena Filina, an exiled opposition politician who organized the signature collection from prisoners across Russia’s penal system, told Reuters that many inmates view ongoing peace talks as their best, and possibly final, opportunity for release.
“If peace agreements are finalized without addressing their amnesty, exchange, or release, their chance for freedom may be lost for a long time,” Filina said.
Since May, representatives from Kyiv and Moscow have held two rounds of talks in Istanbul, reaching a limited agreement on prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of bodies, while also discussing a potential partial ceasefire.
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refuted claims by U.S. envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg that Russia was delaying negotiations to continue its aerial attacks on Ukraine. Peskov added that no dates have been set for a third round of talks in Istanbul, according to Interfax, a state-affiliated news agency.
