On May 27, the Northern Fleet Military Court found 23-year-old student Rafael Mamedov guilty under articles of treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code) and participation in a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the telegram channel of his support group (OVD-Info drew attention to the post).

The convicted person must serve the first three years in prison, and the remaining term in a maximum security colony.

The prosecutor requested 18 years in prison for Mamedov. The student himself did not admit guilt.

Mamedov was detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center in the spring of 2025. Initially, he was accused only of participation in a terrorist organization.

His friend said that the charge was related to the administration of the “Free Lapland” telegram channel. Memes, photographs, facts from the history and mythology of the region were published there. In addition, posts appeared in the channel criticizing the Russian authorities and discussing the need to preserve the cultural identity of the peoples of the northwestern regions of Russia, their alliance, as well as the alliance with the countries of Northern Europe.

At the beginning of 2025, the Free Lapland channel was included in the list of terrorist organizations as a structural subdivision of the Forum of Free States of Post-Russia. Shortly before this, the Forum was declared a terrorist organization. Together with it , more than 170 organizations received this status, which the Supreme Court of Russia called its structural divisions.

In May 2026, Mamedov was charged with treason. The channel of his support group reported that he was accused of this article because of the same publications:

“According to the investigation, these materials allegedly caused damage to the Russian Federation. “We are talking about public texts that have previously become the subject of persecution.”

The support group also insisted that the channel never published calls for terrorism and violence.

The support group clarified to OVD-Info that the security forces charged Mamedov with both articles due to the administration of the “Free Lapland” channel and the publication of the article “Orange Aristocracy. About the Post-Russian Elite" and two more articles - "Decolonization Strategies" and "Regional Conflicts" - on the website of the Coalition for Freedom from Imperial Tyrants.

Project “Support for political prisoners. Memorial recognized Mamedov as a political prisoner. Human rights activists consider the ban on the Post-Russia Free States Forum illegal and the charges brought against Mamedov unfounded. In their opinion, one of the reasons for the persecution of the student was his anti-war position - the interrogation report begins with Mamedov’s testimony about his critical attitude towards the Russian authorities and the invasion of Ukraine.

June 2 The press service of the Northern Fleet Military Court claims that Mamedov carried out tasks of the head of the “Alliance/Coalition (indigenous peoples)”, who acted “in the interests of the Security Service of Ukraine.”

The student, allegedly on the instructions of this person, published in his channel in 2023-2025 information “about the recruitment of informants and intelligence officers to collect data on military installations, routes of movement of military equipment,” and also prepared articles “aimed at destabilizing the situation in the country.”

  • During his imprisonment, the student tried to commit suicide twice. In September 2025, in a pre-trial detention center, he cut himself on his neck and arms. Then, during the transfer, Mamedov tried to hang himself with a belt, but the guard prevented him. The student made his first suicide attempt shortly before his arrest, in May 2025. FSB officers detained him a few days after this, in a psychoneurological dispensary.
  • Before his arrest, Mamedov was a third-year student at the Murmansk Arctic University, majoring in digital sociology.

Information about the accusation provided by Mamedov's support group has been added to the news