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At least six people detained in Russia for political reasons died in pre-trial detention or in ordinary regime prisons between January and April 2026, according to the Russian independent media outlet Meduza. The cases, different in profile and accusation, share a common denominator: all were prosecuted in the context of the war against Ukraine, whether for espionage, for publications on social media, or for posters allegedly placed in a supermarket. Their deaths occur at a time when, according to OVD-Info, more than 2,000 people remain imprisoned in Russia for politically motivated causes.

Deaths in custody of political prisoners are not new in Russia, but they have gained greater visibility since the death of Alexéi Navalny on February 16, 2024, in the IK-3 penal colony, in Kharp, 60 kilometers from the Arctic Circle. The main Russian opposition leader was serving a 19-year sentence when he died. In February 2026, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands stated in a joint statement that Navalny was poisoned with epibatidine, a synthetic toxin, based on analysis of samples from his body. The Kremlin rejected the accusation. During his detention, Navalny accumulated 295 days in punishment isolation cells, a practice that the European Court of Human Rights has qualified as torture.