UN officials urge Russia to free Indigenous climate advocate

UN officials – Ten U.N. officials have urged Russia to immediately release Indigenous Selkup climate advocate Daria Egereva and her colleague Natalia Leongardt, who are jailed on terrorism charges ahead of a Moscow court hearing this week. The U.N. says the arrests appear to

By the time Daria Egereva returned from COP30, the mission that has guided her work was still the same: make sure Indigenous women are present in the room where climate decisions get made.

Instead, on December 17, Russian authorities arrested Egereva and her colleague Natalia Leongardt. Six months later, the two remain behind bars on terrorism charges, and a court hearing this week in Moscow is raising the stakes again—potentially for sentences of up to two decades.

Egereva is Indigenous Selkup from Russia and a co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. the body that represents Indigenous perspectives at United Nations gatherings. Leongardt, a former intern at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva, has worked for years on educational programs for Indigenous peoples in Russia.

The charges against them are rooted in their past involvement in the Aborigen Forum. an informal network of Indigenous advocates that the Russian government shut down two years ago. Russian authorities accuse Egereva and Leongardt of participating in a terrorist group because of that past role. U.N. experts, however, say they are concerned the arrests are reprisals—linked to their participation in U.N. meetings—and part of a broader crackdown on civil society freedoms in Russia, including Indigenous activism.

Ten U.N. officials made that argument directly in a letter sent in April. The signatories included U.N. special rapporteurs for the environment, Indigenous peoples, and human rights in the context of climate change. The letter urged Russia’s government to “immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Egereva and Ms. Leongardt from detention,” drop all charges, and allow them to continue their human-rights work and cooperation with U.N. bodies “without fear of intimidation or reprisals.”.

The letter was made public last week, and Russian officials do not appear to have responded.

Court days have offered Egereva no normal rhythm of family life, either. The U.N. officials wrote that since her arrest in December. Egereva has been denied regular phone calls and visits with her husband and children. Over recent months. she has only been able to see her husband at three court hearings—during which Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia (FSIN) officers prohibited any personal communication or contact.

For the U.N. officials, the concern is not only what detention is doing to the two women. They also warn it could discourage others. The letter states they are worried about the “chilling effect on Indigenous advocacy. international cooperation and engagement with the United Nations. and human rights defenders’ work” that they believe their prosecution could generate.

Friends and colleagues describe the case differently. They say Egereva and Leongardt’s work reflects routine advocacy on behalf of Indigenous peoples rather than extremism, and do not see the “terrorism” framing as a match for what happens day to day across U.N. settings.

“ We want everyone to see that they are part of a huge network and that the work they’ve been doing is completely legitimate. completely within regular diplomatic channels. ” said Kate Finn. a citizen of the Osage Nation and executive director of the Tallgrass Institute. Finn said she has worked with Egereva at the U.N. and added: “It’s being framed by the Russian government as terrorist activity. but it’s activity that Indigenous women do every day for the U.N. system these days.”.

Egereva had been expected in Germany this week for the Bonn Climate Change Conference, with preparations already underway for another COP climate gathering this fall. Her imprisonment has also reverberated inside the Indigenous climate forum she helps lead.

On Tuesday. the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change voted to extend Egereva’s term as co-chair. making her a third co-chair until her release—an unprecedented move. The vote was described as an act of solidarity with her detention. especially since the forum typically has only two co-chairs.

Outside the court and the forum, international condemnation has grown. More than 100 organizations called for Egereva and Leongardt’s release at April’s U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City.

Egereva’s voice was still audible at COP30, just weeks before her arrest. She spoke publicly on November 21 about the vulnerability of Indigenous women and the need to include them in climate talks affecting their rights and priorities. “Women are one of the most vulnerable groups within Indigenous peoples. so we are working to ensure that Indigenous women are included in all climate negotiations affecting their rights. and their interests. and their priorities. ” she said at COP on November 21.

Now, as the expected Moscow court appearance arrives on Thursday, the message from the U.N. officials is blunt: release them, drop the charges, and stop what they describe as intimidation or reprisals for peaceful human-rights work tied to Indigenous representation at the United Nations.

Daria Egereva Natalia Leongardt Russia Indigenous climate advocate International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change COP30 Bonn Climate Change Conference terrorism charges UN special rapporteurs Indigenous rights human rights defenders Moscow court hearing FSIN