Well-known French cyclist and filmmaker Sofiane Sehili has been arrested and placed in pretrial detention in Russia’s Far East as he was nearing the end of his 13,000-km. bicycle tour through Eurasia, from Lisbon to Vladivostok, aiming for the world speed record.

Sehili is awaiting a hearing on charges of illegally crossing the Russian border from China — an infraction that is punishable by a fine of up to $2,400 (200,000 rubles), up to two years of compulsory labor, or up to two years in prison.

Vladimir Naidin, an official of the Primorsky region’s prison monitoring organization, told the French AFP news agency that Sehili did have a Russian e-visa, but that he had “tried to cross the border on foot at a checkpoint only accessible for Russian and Chinese citizens.” [RFE/RL, September 19, 2025.]

“Then he went to another crossing, where it is forbidden to cross on a bike, you need to go on train or bus,” Naidin said. He added that Sehili is in good health, but is having difficulty communicating with the detention center’s officials due to the language barrier. [Id.]

Sehili’s route had taken him into Russia earlier, when he crossed the border from Georgia. He then left Russia in the Astrakhan region, traveling through Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia and China before attempting to re-enter Russia on the last 400-km. stretch of his journey.

But, despite holding a legal visa, he was stymied by the conflicting regulations at different border crossings and arrested, rather than being redirected to a viable entry point . . . making him the newest addition to Vladimir Putin’s collection of human collateral.

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And — as the U.S. Congress works on the passage of a bipartisan bill that would declare Russia to be a state sponsor of terrorism due to the forced removal and “rehoming” of some 19,500 Ukrainian children since the start of its “special military operation” in February 2022 — I have added those unnamed young people to the list of known hostages.

They have been stolen from their homes and their families. taken to a strange country, and are being “educated” — i.e., brainwashed — to become obedient Russian citizens and future military conscripts. Because of their ages, they are the most vulnerable of all of Putin’s political prisoners, and must not be allowed to remain in his grip any longer.

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And, yet again, here is the list of political hostages I know of:

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Prisoners of War:

The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine
The Azov 12

Endangered Exiles:

Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Azerbaijan:

The “Azerbaijan 7”:
— Farid Mehralizada
— Ulvi Hasanli
— Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
— Mahammad Kekalov
— Hafiz Babali
— Nargiz Absalamova
— Elnara Gasimova

In Belarus:

Ales Bialiatski
Andrei Chapiuk
Marya Kalesnikava
Uladzimir Labkovich
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In China:

Chenyue Mao (American)

In Russia:

David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya Kozyreva
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Grigory Melkonyants
Nika Novak
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

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And for the 89th time, here’s wishing each and every one of you a safe — and early — return home.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/21/25