The Political Prisoners Support project of Memorial designated Ilya Chubukov a political prisoner on October 23. He was sentenced to six and a half years in a penal colony over the burning of an installation bearing the letter Z and possession of explosives. Rights advocates regard the sentence as disproportionate and question the evidence supporting the most serious charge.
An installation displaying a symbol of Russia's invasion of Ukraine caught fire in Belgorod overnight on September 18, 2023. Security officers detained Chubukov several days later. Investigators say a grenade, a block of TNT and a detonator were found during a search of his room. In January 2025, a court convicted him of vandalism and unlawful possession of explosive devices.
Chubukov alleged that FSB officers tortured him with an electric shock device and a gas torch, threatened him and planted ammunition. Memorial cites photographs of injuries taken by his lawyer, notes the absence of fingerprint testing and says physical evidence was destroyed before the case was heard on its merits.
The rights organization argues that setting fire to a symbolic installation without serious consequences should not result in imprisonment and that the explosives charge was insufficiently proven. This is Memorial's legal assessment, not the overturning of a conviction by a court. The allegations of torture and fabricated evidence require independent investigation.