Aleksei Sokolov, head of prisoners’ rights group Legal Foundation, was arrested after a raid on his home in Yekaterinburg today

Facebook’s owner Meta has been labelled an ‘extremist’ organisation by the Russian authorities

‘He is being charged on a pretext that would have been laughable were it not real’ - Natalia Zviagina 

A prominent human rights activist in Russia has been arrested for displaying Facebook’s logo online. 

Earlier today, Aleksei Sokolov, the head of Legal Foundation, a human rights organisation defending prisoners’ rights, was arrested after a raid on his home in Yekaterinburg by Russian security forces and charged with “repeated demonstration of prohibited symbols” (article 282.4 of the criminal code). 

Last October, Sokolov became the first person in Russia to undergo a five-day administrative arrest for displaying Facebook’s logo online. Russian Federal Penitentiary Service officials had reported the logo’s presence on a website allegedly administered by Sokolov, leading to the October 2023 charges.

Facebook and Instagram were banned and blocked in Russia in March 2022 after their parent company Meta was declared an “extremist” organisation and its activities prohibited in Russia.

Today’s raid also targeted Sokolov’s son and fellow human rights activist, Larisa Zakharova. Zakharova’s husband was allegedly beaten during the search, and her teenage daughter threatened by law-enforcement officers. During the arrest, Sokolov was apparently ill-treated, including being put face down on the floor and asked about his “status in the criminal underworld”, as shown in videos released by pro-government media.

Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, said:

“With this arrest, the Russian authorities are exacting revenge against Aleksei Sokolov for his relentless defence of prisoners’ rights and for exposing torture in Russian prisons over almost two decades. 

“For displaying the Facebook logo, he is being charged on a pretext that would have been laughable were it not real, and at the expense of his freedom and personal security.

“The deliberately filmed heavy-handed arrest and harsh treatment Aleksei Sokolov has been subjected to signals that the authorities are intent on punishing him harshly for his human rights work. 

“Aleksei Sokolov’s case is emblematic of how far Russian authorities are prepared to go to suppress dissent and silence human rights defenders.

“Amnesty demands his immediate and unconditional release and the termination of these ridiculous criminal proceedings.”