Russian authorities have arrested Daria Egereva, an Indigenous Selkup woman and prominent climate advocate, on charges of participating in a terrorist organization. Observers view the detention as retaliation for her work promoting Indigenous voices at the United Nations. Egereva, from Tomsk in western Siberia, faces potential imprisonment of up to 20 years.
Daria Egereva has long championed Indigenous rights in international climate forums. As a co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change since 2023, she has facilitated Indigenous participation in UN meetings, including the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) gatherings. At COP30 in Brazil last November, Egereva pushed for greater inclusion of Indigenous women in negotiations. "If we don’t protect women, we don’t have a future," she stated in a social media video on November 21.
Egereva's advocacy extended beyond COP. She researched the impacts of the green transition on Indigenous communities, warning in a 2024 report that without proper frameworks, it could perpetuate "historical injustices, marginalization, discrimination, and dispossession of their lands and resources."
On December 17, Russian authorities searched Egereva's home in Tomsk, seized her digital devices, and detained her. The International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change described the action as "direct retaliation" for her UN work, particularly at COP30. Co-chair Sineia Do Vale, a Wapichana from Brazil, condemned it as part of a global pattern of repression against Indigenous peoples engaging in human rights and climate processes.
Egereva's affiliations likely contributed to her targeting. She belonged to the Aborigen Forum, labeled an "extremist" organization by Russia in July 2024, and the Centre for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North, closed in 2019. She remains in detention until a February 17 court hearing, where she could face up to 20 years in prison.
Broader context underscores the risks. A 2023 UN report noted advocates' fears of reprisals deterring UN participation, with a 2024 update reporting increased cases. Global Witness documented over 2,000 environmental defenders killed or disappeared from 2012 to 2024, nearly a third Indigenous. In October, the UN Human Rights Council criticized Russia's designation of 55 Indigenous groups as extremist.
Other advocates face similar pressures. Saami activist Valentina Vyacheslavovna Sovkina reported a four-hour search of her home that week, believing it stemmed from her rights work. "I am being persecuted for my activism and my steadfast commitment to protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples," she said.
International groups like Cultural Survival, the SIRGE Coalition, and the International Indian Treaty Council have decried Egereva's arrest as intimidation linked to UN climate processes. Neither the Basmanny District Court nor the UN responded to inquiries.
