UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia Mariana Katzarova presented a report on September 22 about the human rights situation in the Russian Federation and urged the Russian authorities to stop censorship and repression against dissenters and release political prisoners.
Katzarova highlighted the worsening human rights situation in Russia, the intensification of repression, and the strengthening of authoritarian control. According to her, the authorities use a broad legislative base for politically motivated persecutions, particularly laws on 'foreign agents', 'undesirable organizations', 'discrediting' the Russian army, and spreading 'fakes' about it, as well as laws on 'terrorism' and 'extremism'. Additionally, 258 cases of torture were recorded for the years 2024–2025.
The report notes that by July 2025, 1040 individuals and legal entities were included in the 'foreign agents' registry, and 245 structures, including Amnesty International, 'Reporters Without Borders', Yale University, and even the Elton John Foundation, were added to the list of 'undesirable' organizations. In May, co-chair of the 'Golos' movement* Grigory Melkonyants received 5 years in a colony and a 10-year ban on public activity for allegedly participating in the activities of an 'undesirable' organization — one of the harshest sentences in this category.
Furthermore, the persecution of lawyers and journalists has become widespread. In November 2024, lawyer Dmitry Talantov received 7 years in prison for comments about Bucha — effectively in retaliation for defending journalist Ivan Safronov. In January 2025, three lawyers of Alexei Navalny** — Igor Sergunin**, Alexei Lipzer**, and Vadim Kobzev** — were sentenced to terms ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 years.
From July 2024 to July 2025, 42 Russian journalists were sentenced to imprisonment for up to 12 years. Authorities initiated new criminal cases against 89 Russian journalists. For comparison, in 2023, 23 cases were initiated.
Katzarova also noted that since 2022, more than 50,000 soldiers have deserted from the Russian army. According to Mariana Katzarova, this is about 10% of the Russian army in Ukraine. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 prisoners were recruited to the front, with obvious consequences: by February 2025, veterans committed more than 750 murders and serious crimes within Russia.
The human rights situation in Russia continues to deteriorate steadily, reaching a catastrophic nature, Katzarova concludes, noting that the last three years have been critical for civil society in Russia.
* Recognized as a 'foreign agent' in Russia.
** Included in the list of 'terrorists and extremists'.