Aleksandr Gabyshev
Yakutsk
58 yr old (born in 22.11.1968)
Address: г. Якутск, улица Лермонтова, 178/1, Якутский республиканский психоневрологический диспансер, Габышев Александр Прокопьевич, 1968 г.р.
On 6 March 2019, Alexandr Gabyshev, who calls himself a warrior shaman, headed out on foot from Yakutsk towards Moscow. The stated purpose of the march was the expulsion of Putin. Supporters joined him on the way. This initiative caused persecution of both Gabyshev himself and his supporters in different regions of Eastern Siberia. From mid-summer, Gabyshev's supporters have been subjected to detentions and various forms of pressure. He was first detained in Buryatia, on the border with the Irkutsk region, on 19 September. First he was taken to Ulan-Ude, then to Yakutsk. Later it became known that Gabyshev was prosecuted for public calls for extremist activity. He was released on the recognisance not to leave and in the presence of a state-appointed lawyer was persuaded to undergo a voluntary inpatient examination in a psychiatric facility. On 26 September, due to the threats, the shaman's supporters announced that the march on Moscow was cancelled.
On 3 October, it became known that the psychiatric assessment carried out after Gabyshev’s detention had found signs of insanity.
In early December, Gabyshev announced that he was resuming the march to Moscow. On 9 December, his sister was served with a summons calling Gabyshev for questioning at the Investigative Department of the FSB. The next day, first Rostokin and then Gabyshev himself were detained. Information appeared that Gabyshev had been charged with the use of violence against a representative of authority for resisting detention. However, this information was later denied by the Investigative Committee, though Gabyshev was informed that a preliminary inquiry under the relevant article was underway.
Gabyshev was summoned for interrogation concerning the case on incitement to extremist activity. Since, according to the police, he “behaved defiantly, thereby disobeying a lawful order or demand of police officers, drew a sword, waved it in the direction of the officers and in doing so tore the officer's uniform jacket”, he was fined one thousand rubles under the administrative article on disobedience to lawful demands of the police.
Gabyshev once more gave an undertaking not to leave his place of residence. However, as it was in the previous instance, no formal charges were brought within ten days, and therefore the undertaking was lifted.
In January 2020, it was reported that the Investigative Committee hadn't initiated criminal proceedings against Gabyshev and had returned his sword. However, in the same month, the pressure on the shaman and his supporters resumed. Finally, in May, Gabyshev was detained at his home and taken to a psychiatric hospital. His lawyer later claimed that the ambulance had been called to Gabyshev’s house by an FSB officer. Gabyshev was told to abandon his march to Moscow. A medical commission deemed him dangerous to others. In June the court ordered his compulsory hospitalisation. On 22 July Gabyshev was released from the psychiatric facility.
At the end of January 2021, Gabyshev was placed in a psychiatric facility again. Shortly afterwards, it was reported that criminal proceedings had been initiated against him for the use of violence against a representative of authority: according to the investigators, when officers arrived to take him to the facility, Gabyshev injured a member of the National Guard with his sword.
On 26 July, the court ordered to send Gabyshev to a psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment.
On 25 February 2022, the court ordered to transfer Gabyshev to a specialised hospital.
In June 2023, the court ordered Gabyshev's transfer from the prison hospital to a general psychiatric hospital, but this decision was overturned in July.
On 25 December 2024, the court once again decided to transfer Gabyshev to a general psychiatric hospital. On 28 February 2025, the appeal court overturned it again. On 11 April 2025, the court extended the term of compulsory treatment in the specialised facility. In June 2025, on appeal, the court again ordered Gabyshev's transfer to a general psychiatric hospital. He was transferred from a special-type facility to a general psychiatric hospital only on 3 September.
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It says that the prisoner I was assigned was tried for terrorism, or extremism or something else scary, what’s up with that?
The Kremlin is using scary labels to justify its repression against innocent people.
Of course, a sentence for terrorism does not necessarily mean that a person is a political prisoner (unlike, for example, a sentence for «spreading fake news about the Russian army»). And yet we can say that there are at least several groupings of political crackdowns using the threat of terror as a pretext to go after innocents.
First, hundreds of people have been sentenced to long terms due to their alleged involvement in the Islamist party of Hizb ut-Tahrir — this is used primarily as a pretext for crackdowns on Crimean Tatars. The party was banned as a terrorist organization, although there is no evidence that it had any connection with terrorist activity in Russia or Crimea.
Second, the article on calls for terrorism or justification of terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) is considered a «terrorist» article, and is increasingly being applied to those who, due to their disagreement with the war, allow themselves to make harsh statements against the Kremlin.
Third, since the beginning of the war, the authorities have begun to regard the arson of military registration and enlistment offices as terrorist attacks, although there has not been a single case of anyone being seriously harmed by these protest arsons.
Finally, there are a number of cases in which terrorist activity, including through falsification of evidence, is attributed to opponents of the Kremlin. This is done in order to reduce their support in society and put them behind bars for a long time. The article on state treason is used in a similar manner.
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