Detention: Oleksandr Tarapon, a resident of Alushta and a Ukrainian citizen, openly expressed his anti-war stance following the full-scale Russian invasion. On March 31, 2022, he wrote on the fence of a relative's house, who participated in the war against Ukraine as part of Russian forces, the words: 'A war criminal, a child killer, lives here,' and posted anti-war leaflets nearby. The homeowners then filed a complaint with the Russian police.

In March 2022, Oleksandr was detained by Russian law enforcement. Initially, an administrative protocol was drawn up against him, but later a criminal case was initiated under Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ('public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation'). According to the investigation, his leaflets contained 'false information' about the Russian army. Tarapon did not plead guilty and emphasized that he was expressing his civic stance on the war. His case was one of the first in Crimea where a real prison sentence was imposed under the article concerning 'fake news' about the Russian army.

Sentence: On October 21, 2022, the Russian-controlled Alushta City Court found Oleksandr Tarapon guilty under Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months in a strict regime colony. This was six months more than the prosecution requested. He was taken into custody immediately after the verdict was announced in the courtroom. On January 17, 2023, the appellate court upheld the sentence.

At the end of December 2022, Tarapon was unlawfully transferred to Russia. Initially, he was held in Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd, then for about six months in Khasavyurt, two months in Makhachkala, and later transferred to Correctional Colony No. 3 in Stavropol Krai. According to his wife, during the transfer and while in the colony, he was held in quarantine for extended periods, did not receive adequate medical care, and the colony administration attempted to create grounds for transferring him to harsher conditions. He was registered as a 'extremist and terrorist' and was twice placed in a punishment cell. Tarapon reported inadequate medical care, noting that inmates were essentially only given paracetamol for various illnesses.

In April 2025, Oleksandr Tarapon completed his sentence and was released.

Oleksandr Tarapon is married. His wife, Adel Tarapon, supported him throughout his imprisonment, publicly sharing details about his case, conditions of detention, and rights violations. Thanks to her testimony, details about his transfer, stay in the colony, and health condition became known. According to Tarapon, his decision to speak out against the war was driven by a refusal to remain silent while 'my people, my country, my family suffer.'

The case of Oleksandr Tarapon was one of the first instances in occupied Crimea of criminal liability under the article concerning so-called 'fake news' about the Russian army. Human rights organizations view it as politically motivated persecution for an anti-war stance and exercising the right to freedom of expression.

Information used from open sources: Suspilne Crimea, ZMINA, Kyiv Regional State Administration, Relatives of Political Prisoners.

Photo: ZMINA.

Last updated: 09.07.2026.