Bakhrom Khamroyev (, also Khamroev; born 1963/64) is an Uzbekistan-born lawyer and human rights defender. On May 23, 2023, a

Russian court The Judiciary of Russia interprets and applies the law of Russia. It is defined under the Constitution and law with a hierarchical structure with the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court at the apex. The district courts are the primary crimina ...

sentenced him to 14 years in prison on charges of terrorism for Facebook posts. He was previously a member of

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

. Khamroyev was born in

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. He is known for providing

legal assistance Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right t ...

in Russia to labor migrants from Central Asia. In September 2016, the

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

(FSB) conducted a raid at his home. All of his technical equipment and documents were confiscated. Khamroyev was detained and interrogated at the FSB headquarters. On February 24, 2022, the day of

Russia's invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Khamroyev was again detained. In May 2023, he was sentenced to 14 years for "online calls for terrorism and organizing a terrorist group's activities". According to

, Khamroyev is being persecuted for his consistent human rights activities. In January 2024, prison authorities in

Vladimir Central Prison Vladimir Prison, popularly known as Vladimir Central (), is a prison in Vladimir, Russia. It is the largest prison in Russia, with a capacity of 1,220 detainees, and is operated by the Federal Penitentiary Service as a maximum-security prison ...

subjected him to physical violence. Khamroyev used to come to court proceeding with posters protesting the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

and the persecution of dissidents.

References

Living people Russian political prisoners Uzbeks Human rights lawyers People from Bukhara Year of birth missing (living people) {{Uzbekistan-bio-stub