In Russia, people are being arrested for old links on Facebook and Instagram
In St. Petersburg, since July 10, at least three people, including two candidates in the upcoming elections and an urban activist, have been arrested for old posts on Facebook and Instagram published between 2018 and 2021, before Meta was designated an “extremist” organization in Russia.
Although the Tverskoy Court of Moscow did not recognize Meta’s activities as “extremist” until March 21, 2022, and the company was added to the relevant Ministry of Justice registry on November 25, 2025, Russian courts classify such posts under Article 20.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses as a “public display of extremist symbols.”
In particular, on July 10, urban activist Oleg Mukhin and Ivan Apostolevsky, a Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) deputy in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, were detained for ten days. The basis for the arrest was links to Facebook and Instagram in their old posts on the “VKontakte” social network, which were cited in the arrest report as promoting banned social media platforms. On July 14, the Leninsky District Court of St. Petersburg also sentenced activist Yaroslav Kostrov — a candidate from the “Fair Russia” party — for a 2021 post in the “Central District for a Comfortable Living Environment” community. His attorney, Irina Bakhanovich, emphasized that Kostrov was not the community’s administrator. If the rulings become final, Kostrov and Apostolevsky will be barred from participating in elections for one year.
The lawyer notes that, until now, law enforcement practice has primarily focused on visual elements, as in the case of Ural human rights defender Alexei Sokolov, who was sentenced on July 3, 2026, to two years of forced labor for a Facebook logo. However, the rulings in St. Petersburg could establish a new precedent, under which hyperlinks themselves would be considered a display of symbols. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation stated in its ruling that online publications constitute a continuing offense; therefore, what matters is not the date of publication but the availability of the content to an unlimited number of people.
Source: Media Rights Defense Center Foundation/
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