Treason – aiding prisoners. Details of the case against the Ural human rights activist have emerged.
Ural human rights activist Alexei Sokolov is charged with treason. The charges stem from his reports on violations in prison colonies and pretrial detention centers for the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
Ural human rights activist Alexey Sokolov accused of treason over a project to help sick prisoners. Case details узнал Kommersant: The authorities saw Sokolov's actions as a "threat to Russia's security."
The charges stemmed from the human rights activist's 2023–2024 reports to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) on human rights violations in Russian pretrial detention centers and prison colonies. The organization was only declared undesirable in 2025.
Accusation of treason
According to investigators, Sokolov developed a project to protect the rights of sick prisoners and received a $30 grant through collaboration with the National Chemical Company. He allegedly agreed to secretly submit reports on violations of prisoners' rights by FSIN officers.
According to the prosecution, treason consists of the fact that an undesirable organization, based on his reports, "discredits" Russian authorities, and because of this, "the foreign party draws conclusions about the need to bring the top leadership of the Russian Federation to an international tribunal and expand sanctions pressure."
Alexey Sokolov confirmed that he collaborated with the National Holding Company, but did not admit guilt.
The human rights activist specialized in legal assistance to those arrested and convicted in the Sverdlovsk region.