Not all of the hostages are in Russia. The prisons and penal colonies in other former Soviet republics and Russia-friendly countries — such as Belarus, Azerbaijan and Georgia — are also full of political prisoners: dissidents, oppositionists, journalists, and others who have spoken out against their repressive regimes.

In June of 2025, seven such individuals were convicted in a court in Baku, Azerbaijan, on various spurious charges and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Their names have been on my list of hostages since that time; I dubbed them the “Azerbaijan Seven.”

One of them — economist, civil society advocate, and RFE/RL contributor Farid Mehralizade (far left above), had been abducted on the street on May 30, 2024, denied counsel, and charged with “illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.” Despite a total lack of evidence, he was convicted at the 2025 trial and sentenced to nine years in prison, where he remains today. [RFE/RL, May 30, 2026.]

After two years in detention, Mehralizada has spoken out on his life in prison, as reported yesterday by RadiioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. His account is not filled with tales of horror, anguish and depression, but instead focuses on the social, economic, and practical aspects of life behind bars . . . and is well worth taking the time to read.

A young man — just 31 years old, with a wife and a daughter born a few months after his arrest — his words reflect his loneliness, but lack any expression of bitterness or anger. His report is both enlightening and inspiring, indicative of a man who is determined to survive this miscarriage of justice in order to be reunited with his family. We can only hope for the success of the efforts underway for his early release.

*. *. *

And for the thousands of other political prisoners of Putin and his tyrannical allies, another week in prison has passed. Once again, here is the full list of those hostages known to me, which is still only a fraction of the total:

Prisoners of War:

The 20,000+ Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

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

Endangered Exiles:

Pavel “Pasha” Talankin
Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Oleg Orlov
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Afghanistan:

Mahmoud Habibi (Afghan-American)
Paul Overby (American, missing since 2018)

In Azerbaijan:

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

In Belarus:

Andrei Chapiuk
Uladzimir Labkovich
Andrzej Poczobut
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In Georgia:

Mzia Amaglobeli

In Russia:

The “Crimea 8”:
Oleg Antipov
Artyom Azatyan
Georgy Azatyan
Aleksandr Bylin
Roman Solomko
Artur Terchanyan
Dmitry Tyazhelykh
Vladimir Zloba

James Scott Rhys Anderson (British)
Aleksandr Andreyev
David Barnes (American)
Yevgenia Berkovich
Gordon Black (American)
Hayden Davies (British)
Yury Dmitriyev
Anastasia Dyudyaeva
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
Svetlana Petriichuk
Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea)
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Lev Schlossberg
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Joseph Tater (American, disappeared)
Karina Tsurkan
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

You have not been, and will not be, forgotten.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/31/26