Larisa Zakharova
Larisa Zakharova, born 1967, Sverdlovsk Oblast. Charges: Article 284.1 part 3, Russian Criminal Code (Organization of the activities of an undesirable organization); “The case of Ural Human Rights Defenders”. Status: at large. Recognition: Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, January 13, 2026.
In brief
Sverdlovsk Oblast · Yekaterinburg · Human rights defenders, Lawyers
Sentence
No information about a verdict.
Preventive measure: ban on certain activities since May 14, 2026
Charges
- Article 284.1 part 3, Russian Criminal Code — Organization of the activities of an undesirable organization
Latest event
May 14, 2026 — preventive measure: ban on certain activities
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners, January 13, 2026
Timeline
· Preventive measure: ban on certain activities
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners
· Preventive measure: pre-trial detention
Pre-trial Detention Centre №5 (SIZO-5) of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Sverdlovsk Oblast
· Persecution begins
The case of Ural Human Rights Defenders
· Preventive measure: placement in a temporary detention facility
Criminal case
The case of Ural Human Rights Defenders
Thematic group: The case of Human Rights Defenders of Ural
Details and sources
Full summary
A female resident of Yekaterinburg, a lawyer, and a member of the project ‘Ural's Human Rights Defenders’. Alongside her colleagues she assisted detainees reporting violations of their rights and instances of violence in pre-trial detention centres and penal colonies.
On 16 December 2025, a search was conducted at her home in a case concerning the organisation of the activities of an ‘undesirable organisation’. The grounds for opening the case were a statement by the ‘Volunteer Company of the Combat Brotherhood’ that Zakharova and two other lawyers were cooperating with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the National Endowment for Democracy.
The day after her detention Zakharova was remanded in custody.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
Other people prosecuted under Article 284.1 part 3, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.