Russian courts have begun handing down 10 sentences a day for so-called terrorism
In the first half of 2026, courts in the Russian Federation handed down 1,145 convictions under the “terrorism” provisions of the Criminal Code, issuing an average of 10 rulings per day. The number of such convictions rose by 58% compared to the same period last year and exceeded the total for all of 2024.
According to estimates by the human rights project “First Department” and Kirill Parubets’s analytical center, a total of 1,234 people were convicted during this period, including 243 Ukrainian citizens, with the highest number of verdicts handed down in April.
Most of the verdicts concerned charges of incitement to terrorism, its justification, or propaganda through posts and comments on social media, which accounted for nearly 54% of cases involving a single criminal charge. At the same time, the number of individuals convicted directly for a “terrorist act” fell by nearly half—to 187 people—while the proportion of charges involving multiple counts rose from 11.6% to 23.9%. The vast majority of those convicted received actual prison terms with a median sentence of 13 years in a penal colony; one defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment; six were fined; and 34 individuals were sent for compulsory treatment. According to data from the “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” project, at least 427 people were convicted on clearly political grounds amid the acceleration of case proceedings by courts in the Russian Federation.
Source: First Department.
As a reminder, a court in Moscow ordered the arrest of Russian Z-blogger Georgy Zakrevsky, who had previously supported the war against Ukraine but later began publicly criticizing Vladimir Putin. He is accused of “justifying terrorism” due to posts on his Telegram channel.
In Russia, a former Red Cross employee had his sentence increased to 14 years in a treason case.
