Ten United Nations officials have called on Russia to immediately release Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt, who remain jailed on terrorism charges six months after their arrests. The pair face a key court hearing in Moscow on Thursday.
Egereva, an Indigenous Selkup woman and co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, was arrested with Leongardt on December 17 after returning from the COP30 climate conference. Russian authorities accuse them of ties to the Aborigen Forum, an Indigenous network closed two years ago. The UN letter, sent in April and released last week, demands the charges be dropped. It states the detentions appear to be reprisals for their UN work and warns of a chilling effect on Indigenous participation in international forums. Egereva and Leongardt could face up to 20 years in prison. More than 100 organizations have also demanded their release. Egereva has been denied regular contact with her family since her arrest. The International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change extended Egereva’s term as co-chair this week in solidarity. Russian officials have not responded to the UN appeal.
