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Thank you for demanding Sasha's release

Aleksandra (Sasha) Skochilenko peacefully protested the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She had been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Thank you to nearly 20,000 people including you who wrote to the Russian Embassy to help secure her immediate release.

On 1 August, in a swap deal brokered between Russia and Belarus on the one hand and Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and the US on the other, the authorities in Moscow and Minsk pardoned, released and exiled 16 prisoners, including Russian activists and human rights defenders. Sasha was one of the people released.

We share the relief and joy for the release of Sasha, and all the detained human rights defenders, activists and journalists who will soon be finally able to hug their loved ones. They should never have been behind bars - their prosecution was a grave injustice. We are grateful that the voices of the global and Russian human rights communities have been heard and that the freedom of these individuals has been brokered. 

While their release is an important step, it should not remain an isolated episode. The right way forward is the dismantling of the Russian Authorities’s system of political repression, not bartering human beings. The Russian authorities must free unconditionally all other individuals arbitrarily detained on political grounds.

Case background

When Russian forces invaded Ukraine, Sasha felt compelled to take action. She peacefully protested by replacing price tags in her local supermarket with small labels carrying information about the war. Less than two weeks later, police arrested and jailed Sasha, charging her with a new law that was created to stop people from speaking out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She was one of dozens of people who have since been detained for this ‘offence’.

Sasha is not a criminal. She is an artist and musician that was living a happy, peaceful life with her partner Sonya before she was detained. She had been detained since March 2022 and denied appropriate food to help her manage her coeliac disease, meaning she was forced to go hungry. She was also consistently bullied and harassed by both staff and other inmates. Freedom of expression is a human right. Wherever this right is threatened, injustice can thrive.

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While you’re here…

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As ever, our mission to protect human rights remains. Please donate today to help expose war crimes and protect human rights. Thank you.

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