Mamedov family flees Russia, sentenced in absentia for anti-war letters
A former employee of the Ministry of Justice and her husband left Russia and began sending anti-war letters to government agencies. For this, they received 14 and 16 years in prison in absentia. The courts deemed this mail as "promoting terrorism." The entire family now lives in the United States, far from Vladimir Putin's regime.
In the summer of 2024, Russian courts sentenced former Ministry of Justice employee Maria Mamedova and her husband Denis in absentia to eight and eight and a half years in prison for spreading "fake news" about the army and 14 and 16 years for "promoting terrorist activities." The reason was an anti-war letter that the Mamedovs sent to government institutions in the autumn of 2022 after leaving the country.
The BBC portal describes their behaviour in detail. Before the full-scale invasion of Ukrainian forces, Mamedova worked as an accountant and later as a personnel officer, including at Rostelecom and Russian Post.
Both were interested in politics, especially attending rallies supporting Alexei Navalny. Shortly after the war began, in March 2022, Mamedova started working in the personnel department of the North Caucasus Criminal Forensic Centre of the Ministry of Justice.
Initially, the Russian woman saw no contradiction between her opposition views and her work in the department, which was linked to political persecution. She did not hide her views on the invasion and often argued with colleagues, who told her they were also against the war, but it was necessary.
According to the independent portal Meduza, the turning point was September 2022, when her superiors ordered her to organise a fundraiser for the military. When she refused, she was threatened with "consequences," after which Mamedova resigned, and her family left the country.
It was a great decision for them because a few days after their departure, the police knocked on the couple's old apartment door. The family decided to cross through Mexico to the United States and apply for political asylum there.
This was not the end of the matter because Maria and Denis Mamedov wrote an anti-war letter and began sending it en masse to offices across Russia. According to Mamedova, they wanted to show that not all Russians supported the war.
It took the family two months to reach the United States. They managed to cross the American border on the fourth attempt.
Already in the United States, the Mamedovs continued their activities, writing complaints to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and other authorities, demanding an end to the war in Ukraine and bringing President Vladimir Putin to justice.
In October 2023 - roughly a year after their departure - the Mamedovs were placed on a wanted list and arrested in absentia as part of a case concerning "fake stories" about the military. Six months later, another case was revealed - "promoting terrorism," in which the couple was again arrested.
In April 2024, Denis Mamedov was sentenced in absentia to eight and a half years in a general-regime colony for "fakes". At the end of June, Maria was sentenced to 14 years in prison for "promoting terrorism".
At the beginning of July, Denis was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security colony on similar charges. At the same time, Maria was sentenced to eight years for "fakes".
