Russian political prisoners call on world leaders to back mass amnesty in future peace talks

A group of jailed Russian dissidents have signed a joint letter to world leaders calling for the mass release of political prisoners in Russia and Ukrainian civilians held by Russian forces — estimated at over 10,000 people — as a key term in any peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The letter, which Reuters published in its entirety, was signed by 11 individuals, including activists, poets, and a local politician, who say that “at least 10,000” Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilian hostages are being held at Russian prisons.

“We are all punished for one thing — for taking a civic stance,” the letter reads.

Since 2012, they say, over 100 repressive laws have been passed in Russia to stamp out dissent, with more than 60 introduced since February 2022 alone, while national human rights institutions have been hollowed out.

“There are no acquittals in politically motivated cases in Russia,” it says. “The cruelty of punishment is growing; no one is surprised by 10-, 15-, or 20-year prison terms”.

One of the most high-profile signatories is Alexey Gorinov, a 63-year-old former municipal deputy who became the first person to receive a custodial sentence under wartime censorship laws after calling for a minute’s silence for the victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2023, before receiving an additional three years in prison after a fellow inmate denounced him in November 2024.

The youngest prisoner who signed is Darya Kozyreva, 19, jailed earlier this year for leaving flowers at a St. Petersburg monument to 19th-century Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko alongside a handwritten excerpt from one of his poems.

“We call on both sides of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to immediately conduct an exchange of prisoners of war and civilians according to the formula ‘all for all’, including Ukrainian civilian hostages,” the statement concludes.

Yelena Filina, an exiled opposition politician who coordinated the collection of signatures from prisoners across Russia’s penal system, told Reuters that many of the inmates felt ongoing peace talks were their best, if not last, chance for freedom.

“If peace agreements are signed without taking into account their amnesty, exchange or other form of release, the window of opportunity will slam shut for a long time,” she told Reuters.

Representatives of Kyiv and Moscow have conducted two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul since May, resulting in a limited agreement governing prisoner swaps and body repatriations, as well as discussions of a partial ceasefire.

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied claims by US senior envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg that Russia was seeking to “stall for time” while continuing an aerial offensive on Ukraine, and stated the dates for a third round of discussions in Istanbul had not yet been agreed upon, according to state-affiliated news agency Interfax.