Arseniy Turbin got a little too vocal in college last year when he openly criticized the war in Ukraine. The 15-year-old also had the bad idea of distributing some scathing leaflets towards Vladimir Putin in his small town of Livny, 47,000 inhabitants, 450 km south of Moscow. And he admits to having conducted research on the Internet, with the vague intention of joining the Russian Freedom Legion. This paramilitary group, which reportedly has nearly 2,000 members, has been fighting alongside Ukrainian forces on their soil and carrying out attacks in Russia since February 2022.
Arseniy Turbin ultimately never applied to the Legion… No matter. At the end of August 2023, reports the Moscow Times, her mother Irina saw agents from the FSB, the Russian security services, arrive in their house. Search, confiscation of computer equipment… The next day, Arseniy was summoned for questioning. Without a lawyer. Police say he signed a confession, which he denies.
Locked up with violent fellow inmates
Placed under house arrest, then imprisoned in Moscow since June, the young man lost 17 kg, according to his mother. For several weeks, he suffered beatings and threats from his fellow prisoners, the independent news site reported in October Mediazona .
He, who dreamed of studying political science in Moscow, was sentenced to five years of detention in a penal colony for minors, “for participation in terrorist activities”. This Thursday, November 7, the Court of Appeal, however, agreed to reduce his sentence. But only twenty-four days, over five years.
Now aged 16, Arseniy Turbin is the youngest political prisoner in Russia, according to the human rights NGO Memorial. Like him, reports the independent organization OVD-Info, nine Russian minors have been accused of criminal activities of a political nature since the start of the invasion in Ukraine.
