Elena Filina
Elena Filina, born 1976, Moscow. Charges: Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code (Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government…); “Elena Filina’s case of “fakes” about the Russian Armed Forces”. Sentence (March 6, 2025): 8 years' imprisonment in a general regime penal colony, 6 months' restriction of liberty, 4 years' prohibition to hold… Status: not in Russia.
In brief
Moscow · Moscow · Politicians · Anti-war cases
Sentence
8 years
imprisonment in a general regime penal colony, 6 months' restriction of liberty, 4 years' prohibition to hold office in public organisations
Upheld November 18, 2025
Charges
- Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code — Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government agencies, or mercenaries (based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or on grounds of hatred or enmity in relation to any social group)
Full wording of the charges
The grounds for the case was a Facebook post that read, “Bucha and Irpin are the real fascism and Nazism, a crime against humanity committed by Russian soldiers on Putin’s orders”.
Latest event
November 18, 2025 — appeal
The court upheld the verdict.
Timeline
· Appeal ruling
upheld
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 8 years
· Persecution begins
Elena Filina’s case of “fakes” about the Russian Armed Forces
Criminal case
Elena Filina’s case of “fakes” about the Russian Armed Forces
- Case number
- 01-0624/2024
Thematic group: Anti-war case
Details and sources
Full summary
She is a former deputy of Moscow's Prospekt Vernadskogo district. A case was opened against her for dissemination of knowingly fake information about Russian Armed Forces because of a post condemning crimes in Irpen and Bucha. She left Russia, she was put on a wanted list and arrested in absentia.
On 6 March 2025, Filina was sentenced in absentia to eight years. On 19 June, Moscow City Court cancelled the sentence because of a violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure: the judge did not schedule a preliminary hearing, which is mandatory for trials held in the absence of the defendant. In July, the case went to the court of first instance for a new hearing. On 16 September 2025, a new verdict was passed, details are unknown.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
- Preventive measures
- arrest in absentia
Other people prosecuted under Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.