Andrei Kolomiets
Andrei Kolomiets, born 1993, Occupied territory of Republic of Crimea. Charges: Article 105 part 2 items a, e, l applied with Article 30 part 3, Russian Criminal Code (Attempted murder); Article 228 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code (Illegal drug trafficking); “Andrei Kolomiets’ case”. Sentence (May 31, 2023): 9 years and 8 months’ imprisonment in a strict regime colony. Status: not in Russia. Recognition: Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, July 9, 2016; Memorial Human Rights Centre — recognised as a political prisoner, July 4, 2016.
In brief
Occupied territory of Republic of Crimea · Simferopol · Shop assistants
Sentence
9 years 8 months
9 years and 8 months’ imprisonment in a strict regime colony
First instance, June 9, 2016: 10 years
Charges
- Article 105 part 2 items a, e, l applied with Article 30 part 3, Russian Criminal Code — Attempted murder
- Article 228 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code — Illegal drug trafficking
Full wording of the charges
As a member of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army banned in Russia, on 20 January 2014, he participated in clashes on Hrushevsky Street in Kyiv, threw at least two Molotov cocktails at Berkut officers from Crimea, M.V. Kozliakov and A.V. Gavrilenko, leading to their outer clothing catching on fire. On 16 May 2015, in a field near the village of Novo-Ivanovskoye, he picked 152.3 grams of cannabis tops, then hitched a ride and placed a bag of cannabis next to the front seat.
Latest event
January 15, 2025 — imprisonment ends
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, July 9, 2016
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Memorial Human Rights Centre, July 4, 2016
Timeline
· Imprisonment ends
· Persecution ends
· Cassation ruling
sentence changed · 9 years 8 months
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Memorial Human Rights Centre
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 10 years
· Preventive measure: pre-trial detention
Pre-trial Detention Centre №1 (SIZO-1) of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russian Federation for the Kabardino-Balkar Republic
· Persecution begins
Andrei Kolomiets’ case
Criminal case
Andrei Kolomiets’ case
Details and sources
Full summary
On the night of 17 May 2015, he was detained in Kabardino-Balkaria, interrogated on charges of attempted murder of Berkut fighters on the Maidan in Kiev (who received Russian citizenship in Crimea after the events), gave a confession, which he later retracted, claiming that he had given it under torture; according to the investigation, after the interrogation he was released and on his way home he picked marijuana and tried to smuggle it in a hitchhiking car, but was detained. Kolomiets claims that he was not released and that the drugs had been planted in the car in which he was then put by the operatives; there is no material evidence of Kolomiets’ attack on the Berkut fighters in the case and everything is based on testimonies of the victims, while the testimony of one of them changed significantly after Kolomiets’ arrest – a description of a person similar to him was added to it.
On 10 June 2016, he was sentenced to ten years in a strict regime colony. On 1 June 2023, the court of cassation excluded a part relating to the victims’ performance of official duties from the charge of attempted murder and a part relating to transportation from the charge under the article on drugs. Kolomiets’ sentence was reduced by four months.
On 15 January 2025, Kolomiets was released. On the same day, he was taken to a deportation centre. He was later deported from Russia, but in July 2025 Kolomiets was reported to have been stuck in a buffer zone at the border with Georgia. Soon after that, he eventually managed to return to Ukraine.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Ukraine
Other people prosecuted under Article 228 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.