Source: Solidarity zone
On 18 February 2025, a tribunal at the 2nd Western District Military Court found Yuri Mikheev guilty of "preparing sabotage" (Articles 281.2 and 30.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and sentenced to him to seven years behind bars, with the first three years to be served in prison.
Together with his lawyer, Yuri has lodged an appeal against the sentence, but so far no date has been given for the hearing.
Yuri Mikheev, an anti-fascist, is the youngest person to whom Solidarity zone is giving support. Having already spent eighteen months in detention, he has passed his 19th birthday.
Yuri Mikheev and Matvei Melnikov were arrested on 10 November 2023 on a military base in Dmitrovskii district in Moscow region, and accused of attempting to damage military equipment by firebombing. Later on Timofei Melnikov, Matvei’s brother, was arrested in Smolensk. According to the investigating officers, Matvei and Timofei corresponded with the 'Free Russia Legion' (an armed formation fighting on Ukraine’s side), and, as a test, were given the task of firebombing military equipment. Matvei brought his friend Yuri Mikheev in to record the attack on video.
Yuri counts himself as an anti-fascist skinhead, who opposes racists and neo-Nazis (aligned with SHARP, Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice). Moreover, he does not support Russian aggression against Ukraine.
In detention, this young man has not lost heart, and he has kept on following the news. Mikheev wrote in his letter: "Everything is fine with me. I sit and keep an eye on the political situation. I sit and hope for better days. As for sport, I have made a little progress. I haven’t been on the bench press (because I am lazy), and so instead of a six pack I am getting a bit of a stomach, ha."
Almost from the day that Yuri was arrested, Solidarity zone has given him all-round support, including paying lawyers' fees. In November 2024 we announced a second fundraiser to pay these fees for the first half of 2025. Most of the sum needed was raised and paid to the lawyers, but we still need to find another €1210.
Donate via PayPal to: solidarity_zone@riseup.net (please make a note "for Mikheev")
Cryptocurrency (please inform us by email at solidarity_zone@riseup.net, if you send cryptocurrency to support Mikheev):
Monero: 4B1tm6boA5ST6hLdfnPRG2Np9XMHCTiyhE6QaFo46QXp6tZ7Y6nJjE43xBBTwHM84bWwexR8nS4KH36JHujjc1kC8j2Mx5e
Bitcoin: bc1qn404lrshp3q9gd7852d7w85sa09aq0ch28s3v4
USDT (TRC20): TRcCUHKSMY7iLJPvbDxLc6ZnvAud72jTgj
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