October 20, 2026, 10:56 AMRSSRU

Alexey Kiselev

ImprisonedChecked October 18, 2026

Alexey Kiselev, born 1964, Occupied territory of Republic of Crimea. Charges: Article 208 part 2, Russian Criminal Code (Participation in armed groups against the interests of the Russian Federation including in the…); “Case of Alexei Kiselev concerning the participation in the activities of an illegal armed group”. Sentence (February 17, 2023): 8 years 6 months' imprisonment in a strict regime colony. Status: imprisoned; deprived of liberty since August 22, 2023; place of detention: Penal colony No. 17, Murmansk Oblast. Recognition: Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, June 19, 2023.

In brief

Occupied territory of Republic of Crimea, Occupied territory of Khersonska oblast · Dzhankoy · Military personnel

Sentence

8 years 6 months

imprisonment in a strict regime colony

Verdict February 17, 2023

Upheld August 22, 2023

Charges

Full wording of the charges

According to the investigation, he participated in the activities of the "Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion named after Nomon Chelebidzhikhan", was often on its territory, and was also the organiser of the "sea blockade" of Crimea, which he planned to carry out on a fishing boat by deploying several rows of cable barriers in the Kerch Strait.

Latest event

August 22, 2023 — appeal

The court upheld the verdict.

Checked October 18, 2026 · no changes since October 15

Recognition by rights defenders

Timeline

  1. · Appeal ruling

    upheld

  2. · Recognised as a political prisoner

    Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners

  3. · First-instance verdict

    guilty verdict · 8 years 6 months

  4. · Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”

  5. · Persecution begins

    Case of Alexei Kiselev concerning the participation in the activities of an illegal armed group

Criminal case

Case of Alexei Kiselev concerning the participation in the activities of an illegal armed group

There are no other defendants in this case in the database.

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Facility: Penal colony No. 17, Murmansk Oblast

Address (in Russian, as written on the envelope)

183035, Россия, г. Мурманск, ул. Угольная база, 9, ФКУ «ИК № 17 УФСИН России по Мурманской области», Киселев Алексей Алексеевич, 1964 г.р.

Address checked October 18, 2026

Details and sources

Full summary

According to OVD-Info

Former captain of the Ukrainian Navy warship Slavutych. In his own words, he provided social services to displaced people as part of the activities of the public organisation Resettled.SOS. Kiselev told the court that on July 22, 2022, he was kidnapped and tortured in the basement of a vocational school in occupied Genichesk. According to Kiselev, he was beaten and tortured for five days, demanding that he confess on camera that he was the leader of the Ukrainian partisan movement. He did not give in. It later became known that Kiselev's arm was broken after his detention. On July 27, he was put in a car and taken to Crimea. Kiselev was officially accused of involvement in an illegal armed formation, namely the Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan, which apparently had not been functioning for a long time at the time of the prosecution. The founder of the "battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan" Lenur Islyamov publicly denies that Kiselev has anything to do with the battalion. Among those who testified against Kiselev were Sergei Gudym, also convicted on charges of involvement in the battalion, and Seit-Ibram Zaitullaev. Both testified against other defendants in similar cases. According to the version of the Russian law enforcers, Kiselev was detained after he entered the territory of Crimea on his own. However, the FSB officers were unable to provide the court with video footage from surveillance cameras at the checkpoint and a copy of the migration card that Kiselyov would have had to fill out if he had entered on his own. On February 16, 2023, Kiselyov was sentenced to eight and a half years in a strict regime colony.

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Sources (1)

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