Human rights activists call for the release of mothers who are political prisoners

Makhachkala resident Olga Petrova and 19 other female political prisoners separated from their minor children should be released through pardon or amnesty, according to a petition filed by human rights activists.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, in December 2021, a court sentenced 36-year-old Makhachkala resident Olga Petrova to seven years in prison, finding her guilty of financing terrorism. Petrova stated in court that the main prosecution witnesses—Sagid Kazimagomedov, convicted of complicity in aiding terrorist activity, and Anna Papushina—retracted their initial testimony in court. According to relatives, security forces began persecuting Petrova and her sister, Irina Dudka, after the women converted to Islam. In April 2025, human rights activists recognized Petrova as a political prisoner. In August, Petrova gave birth to a boy in prison. She received a parcel containing baby supplies, fundraised by human rights activists.

A petition calling for the release of 20 female political prisoners who are mothers of minor children was initiated by the human rights project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial"*.

The petition's authors recalled that "motherhood and childhood are under the protection of the state" according to Article 38 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Although the criminal code provides for the possibility of deferring punishment for mothers of children under 14, it was not applied to female political prisoners.

“Separation from mothers is a source of suffering for children who, from any point of view, are not guilty of anything and should not be punished (...) We are confident that the return of 20 mothers to their children does not pose a threat to the authorities and, moreover, does not pose a public danger,” the text noted, published on March 11 on the platform of the independent public media project OVD-Info*.

The release of mothers of political prisoners as a sign of mercy could be achieved through an amnesty or pardon, human rights activists noted. As of 4:35 a.m. Moscow time today, 658 people had signed the petition.

The list of 20 female political prisoners, in addition to Olga Petrova from Makhachkala, includes 15 women from other Russian regions and four Ukrainian women imprisoned in Russia. In particular, it includes Moscow theater director Anastasia Berezhinskaya, sentenced to eight years in a case involving military "fakes," who in the summer of 2025 reported the unacceptable condition of the premises in the Volgograd pretrial detention center.

* are included in the Russian register of foreign agents.

** The activities of Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.