Arseny Turbin at 15. Photo provided by the family
A fresh criminal case has been opened against Arseny Turbin, the 17-year-old who was sentenced to five years in prison for terrorism in 2024 after he was found guilty of attempting to join the Freedom of Russia Legion, his support group Free Arseny said on Wednesday.
The new case was opened to investigate Turbin’s alleged participation in “mass riots”, details of which were not specified, though, according to his support group, there are numerous people prepared to testify against him.
Believed to be Russia’s youngest political prisoner when he was detained for posts he made on social media criticising Putin and printing and distributing anti-government leaflets, Turbin, then 15, was subsequently found to have applied to join the banned Freedom of Russia Legion, which fights alongside the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
A few months after his initial sentencing, it was reported that Turbin has suffered severe abuse in prison, losing around a quarter of his body weight due to loss of appetite from stress.
On Wednesday, Turbin’s support team accused the Russian authorities of planning to extend his prison term, claiming that in December they had unsuccessfully attempted to build a case against him for involvement with the AUE, a secretive prison underground whose code forbids all cooperation with the police and acts as a parallel justice system.
If convicted, Turbin could have a further 3–8 years added to his current prison term.
