Week-ending 14 November 2025
“The repeated arrests of Naoko and her bandmates are punishment for their public performance which have become a breath of fresh air in a country gasping under repression and self-censorship. Worse still, the authorities’ persistence in pursuing Naoko and her fellow musicians raises fears that they might be preparing criminal charges against them. Russian lawmakers have introduced so many repressive and vague laws that prosecuting someone for expressing anti-war views is little more than a technicality. Authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Naoko and Aleksandr Orlov and other street musicians detained for acts of anti-war protest, simply exercising their right to freedom of expression. Their only ‘crime’ is singing songs that challenge the suffocating official narrative.”
– Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, responding to the third time that Diana Loginova (aka Naoko) and Aleksandr Orlov, street music performers from the band Stoptime, have been jailed for an administrative-law offence
– source: Russia: Street musicians jailed for a third time over anti-war songs,’ Amnesty International, 10 November 2025
Background from Amnesty International: ‘In October, videos of the street band Stoptime performing songs by exiled Russian musicians in Saint Petersburg went viral. Crowds joined in singing lyrics critical of the authorities, human rights violations and the war against Ukraine. Police arrested the three band members – vocalist Diana Loginova (Naoko), guitarist Aleksandr Orlov and drummer Vladislav Leontyev – on 15 October, accusing them of “organizing a mass gathering that violated public order” (Article 20.2.2(1) of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences). Loginova and Leontyev were placed in so-called administrative detention for 13 days, and Orlov for 12 days. The court also fined Loginova 30,000 rubles (approximately US$ 370) for “discrediting the Russian armed forces” under Article 20.3.3 of the Code. When their administrative detention expired on 27 and 28 October, police immediately re-arrested them under Article 20.2.2 for earlier performances, sentencing them to another 12–13 days. Naoko also received 13 days for “petty hooliganism” (Article 20.1 CAO) for allegedly using obscene language during one of her performances and a second fine for “discreditation.” On 9–10 November, Orlov and Loginova were detained for the third time in a row as they left detention. The authorities have not disclosed the grounds for their new detention, continuing a pattern of “carousel arrests” – a practice used to prolong deprivation of liberty without filing criminal charges. Their case sparked solidarity concerts across Russia. In Yekaterinburg, Evgeny Mikhailov was placed in administrative detention for 14 days for “petty hooliganism” for “shouting slogans and disturbing public order” and “discreditation of the Armed Forces.” In Perm, street musician Yekaterina Romanova (Ostasheva) received seven days of administrative detention for “refusal to undergo a drug test,” then another 15 days and 60 hours of community work for “disobeying the police.” Police also detained three performers in Saint Petersburg and one protester in Moscow, whose identities are not yet known.’
‘As detailed in the Petition, Russian authorities detained Ms. Novak on December 25, 2023, on charges stemming from her independent journalism for RFE/RL. Ms. Novak is currently serving an unjust four-year sentence in a penal colony in Irkutsk.
We are deeply concerned by reports that Ms. Novak has been placed in isolation and solitary confinement several times in recent months and has begun a hunger strike (her third) to protest her circumstances. Based on these developments and the risks they pose to Ms. Novak’s health, Ms. Novak’s representatives submitted an Urgent Appeal to the UNWGAD on October 9, 2025, detailing the worsening conditions of Ms. Novak’s imprisonment. We strongly urge the UNWGAD to consider and announce its opinion on Ms. Novak’s case at the earliest opportunity, and greatly appreciate your urgency in expediting this matter.’– Letter to the members of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’, signed by Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom of the Press Foundation, International Press Institute, International Women’s Media Foundation, National Press Club, PEN America, Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Society of Professional Journalists
– source: CPJ, partners call on UN Working Group to issue opinion on imprisoned Russian journalist, CPJ, 13 November 2025
Background from CPJ: The Committee to Protect Journalists and nine partner organizations urged the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on November 12, 2025, to issue an opinion on the case of imprisoned Russian journalist Nika Novak. The Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club recently filed submissions to the working group requesting an opinion finding that Novak’s continued detention by the Russian government is arbitrary and violates international law. Novak is serving a four-year prison sentence in the Siberian region of Irkutsk after being convicted on November 26, 2024, on charges of “confidential cooperation with a foreign organization” stemming from her independent journalism for RFE/RL. She was detained by Russian authorities in December 2023. The joint statement highlights Novak’s worsening detention conditions. She has been placed in isolation and solitary confinement several times in recent months and has begun a hunger strike — her third — to protest her circumstances.
