Andrei Serezhenko
Andrei Serezhenko, born 1982, Occupied territory of Khersonska oblast. Charges: Article 222.1 part 3, Russian Criminal Code (Illegal acquisition, transfer, storage, transportation, shipment, or carrying of explosives or…); Article 361 part 1 applied with Article 33 part 5, Russian Criminal Code; “The case of involvement in an assassination attempt on Evgenii Sobolev, the head of the Federal Penitentiary Service in Kherson Region,”. Sentence (May 13, 2025): 17 years' imprisonment, with the first 2 years to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict regime colony, plus… Status: imprisoned; deprived of liberty since July 1, 2022; place of detention: Pre-trial detention centre No. 1, Chechnya. Recognition: Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, March 15, 2026.
In brief
Sentence
17 years
imprisonment, with the first 2 years to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict regime colony, plus a fine of 300,000 rubles
Upheld March 30, 2026
Charges
- Article 222.1 part 3, Russian Criminal Code — Illegal acquisition, transfer, storage, transportation, shipment, or carrying of explosives or explosive devices committed by an organized group of people
- Article 361 part 1 applied with Article 33 part 5, Russian Criminal Code
Full wording of the charges
According to the investigation, together with an accomplice, "acting on instructions from the Ukrainian GUR, he participated in organising the car bombing of the head of the FSIN in the Kherson region, Evgenii Sobolev": in his own car, he transported Vasilii Biblenko, who had an explosive device in his backpack, to the public garden between Parovoznaya Street and Admiral Senyavin Avenue in Kherson. An hour later, he returned and drove Biblenko to the latter's home, where he provided him with medical assistance.
Latest event
March 30, 2026 — appeal
The court upheld the verdict.
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners, March 15, 2026
Timeline
· Appeal ruling
upheld
· Imprisonment begins
Pre-trial Detention Centre №1 (SIZO-1) of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russian Federation for the Chechen Republic
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 17 years
· Preventive measure: pre-trial detention
· Persecution begins
The case of involvement in an assassination attempt on Evgenii Sobolev, the head of the Federal Penitentiary Service in Kherson Region,
Criminal case
The case of involvement in an assassination attempt on Evgenii Sobolev, the head of the Federal Penitentiary Service in Kherson Region,
- Case number
- 1-193/2025 (1-551/2024;)
Write a letter
Facility: Pre-trial detention centre No. 1, Chechnya
Address (in Russian, as written on the envelope)
364037, г. Грозный, Ленинский р-он, ул. Кунта-Хаджи Кишиева, 2, ФКУ СИЗО-1 УФСИН России по Чеченской Республике, Сереженко Андрей Николаевич, 1982 г.р.
Details and sources
Full summary
A resident of Kherson, he was detained on 29 June 2022. According to his relatives, he was held at "Steklotara," one of the most notorious unofficial sites for torture and detention in occupied Kherson, located on the premises of a former glass-container collection and storage facility. On 2 September 2022, his relatives were informed that Serezhenko had been removed from the site. Official Russian state media reported that he was involved in organising the car bombing targeting Yevgeny Sobolev, then head of the Kherson region’s Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service. A criminal case was initiated against Serezhenko for committing a terrorist act and possession of explosives. He was not granted the formal status of a suspect until February 2024; prior to this, he was held in an undisclosed location where he was repeatedly interrogated in the presence of journalists from state-controlled media outlets (the court subsequently credited the period from 6 July 2022 to the date the sentence entered into legal force toward his prison term). Another defendant in the same case, Oleg Pronko, died in custody under unclear circumstances. On 6 August 2024, the court returned Serezhenko’s case for further investigation. The charge was reclassified from "committing a terrorist act" to "committing an act of international terrorism," apparently due to the fact that, as of June 2022, Kherson was not yet considered part of the Russian Federation's territory. During the retrial, the court reclassified the charge from "committing an act of international terrorism" to "aiding and abetting such an act." On 13 May 2025, Serezhenko was sentenced to 17 years in a strict-regime penal colony. As of March 2026, he is being held in a pre-trial detention centre in Chechnya.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Ukraine
Other people prosecuted under Article 222.1 part 3, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.