Bakhrom Khamroev

Detained on February 24, 2022. Law enforcement had key to his apartment and were able to access it. On February 26, the court decided to take Khamroev into custody. On March 4, the offices of Memorial and Civil Assistance were searched as part of the case. Lawyers and the chairman of the board of the International "Memorial" Yan Rachinsky were not allowed into its offices. The search in one of Memorial's offices lasted through the night of March 5. Following the search, the staff noticed that several Z's - symbols of support for the war in Ukraine - as well as the phrase "Memorial is over" were put onto whiteboards and flip charts in the office.

Bakhrom Khamroev has been involved in human rights work in Russia since 1992. He dedicated the last few years to defending the rights of migrants from Asia, and Russian Muslims. In February of 2020, the court dropped the criminal case against Khamroev under the article on fictitious registration of foreigners (Article 322.2 of the Criminal Code). The case was closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
In 2016 and 2017, Khamroev was searched twice in relation to a case against two refugees from Uzbekistan, in which the human rights defender was a witness. During one of the interrogations, FSB officers asked Khamroev why he was helping the "extremists".

On October 17, 2022, it became known that a charge for organising activities of a terrorist organisation was also brought against Khamroev. Later the charge was reclassified to participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation.

On May 23, 2023, Khamroev was sentenced to 14 years in a strict regime colony. On October 10, the court of appeal reduced the sentence by three months.

Khamroev's wife reported that on January 23, 2024 he was severely beaten in the Vladimirskiy Central prison. This happened after Khamroev repeatedly filed complaints about the conditions of detention. According to his wife, "He received blows on his legs, groin, kidneys, there were bloody abrasions on his back, he lost consciousness from a blow to his head". After that, Khamroev's lawyer was prevented from visiting his client twice, and medical workers refused to record the beatings. Other Muslims detained in the facility demanded an end to his abuse, and some of them also received beatings.

You can read more about politically persecuted people in the Telegram channel OVD-Info LIVE and our politically motivated criminal prosecutions in Russia database