A criminal case has been opened against Olga Romanova, director of the Russia Behind Bars foundation, over alleged evasion of duties imposed on a “foreign agent.” The announcement was made by the Moscow prosecutor’s office.
The supervisory authority said the case was based on materials from an inspection conducted by the Tverskaya interdistrict prosecutor’s office in Moscow. According to prosecutors, Romanova had previously been fined twice for publications that did not include the required “foreign agent” label.
The statement says that despite those fines, from February 2025 she continued to post messages without the required disclaimer in a “channel of one of the messengers”.
Russia’s Justice Ministry added Romanova to the “foreign agents” register in October 2023. At the time, the ministry said the decision was based on claims that the head of Russia Behind Bars had taken part in creating materials for other “foreign agents,” spread what it called “fake” information about the policies of the Russian authorities, and “received support from a foreign source.”