UN Expert Warns of Intensified Repression in Russia Post-Ukraine Invasion

State repression in Russia has escalated since the Ukraine invasion, according to U.N. expert Mariana Katzarova. Over 1,300 political prisoners face arbitrary imprisonment and torture. Russia did not respond to Katzarova’s research efforts. Critics allege that the West exaggerates the extent of Russia’s repression.

State repression in Russia has intensified following the Ukraine invasion, a U.N. expert reported on Tuesday, highlighting the arbitrary imprisonment risks for more than 1,000 political prisoners.

"The country is now governed by a State-sponsored system of fear and punishment, including the use of torture, with absolute impunity," U.N. Special Rapporteur Mariana Katzarova reported to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Her report, which details increased repression since the war began in February 2022, notes that the number of political prisoners has surged to over 1,300. Arbitrary and fabricated charges have led to severe sentences, such as a priest receiving a seven-year term for praying against the war.

Many detainees face extreme risks, from death to debilitating health conditions, Katzarova added. Russia did not respond to her research requests, leaving their U.N. council seat empty and their mission in Geneva unresponsive. Russian officials claim that Western accounts of repression are exaggerated. They also maintained that opposition leader Alexei Navalny died of natural causes, a statement contested by Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who accuses President Putin of his murder. Several political prisoners liberated in a recent swap are expected to speak in Geneva later on Tuesday.

Katzarova, one of the U.N.'s numerous independent rights experts, is uniquely tasked with reporting on a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.