Russian Authorities Escalate Pressure on Sergei Davidis

On November 28, 2024, Sergei Davidis was placed on the "List of Extremists and Terrorists" maintained by Rosfinmonitoring (the Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service), with a designation citing his "involvement in terrorism." Although officially aimed at combating terrorism, this list has frequently been used by Russian authorities to target political activists and independent organizations. The inclusion of Davidis on this list is almost certainly connected to a recently opened criminal case against him.

On December 5, documents related to an administrative case were submitted to the Lyublinsky District Court in Moscow. These materials revealed that an administrative protocol had been filed against Davidis, accusing him of participating in the activities of an organization labeled "undesirable" under Russian law. These designations, introduced in 2015, are often employed by the government to suppress independent organizations perceived as threats to state security or public order.

The prosecution of Davidis seems closely linked to his advocacy for political prisoners, coordination of support initiatives, and efforts to raise awareness both within Russia and internationally.

This year, Davidis, co-chair of the Memorial Center, has faced multiple repressive measures from Russian authorities. In March, the Ministry of Justice labeled the Memorial Center as a 'foreign agent,' a designation widely used to stigmatize and constrain the activities of NGOs and civil society organizations in Russia. In August, Roskomnadzor (Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media) filed an administrative protocol accusing Davidis of failing to properly label eight posts on his personal Telegram channel as originating from a “foreign agent.” In September, this resulted in a fine of 30,000-rubles (approximately 300 US dollars).