Open Letter

to President Donald J. Trump, Members of Congress, and the American People

Dear President Trump, Honorable Senators, Members of Congress, and Citizens of the United States,

We, representatives of the Russian opposition, independent journalists, writers, human rights advocates, and other citizens who share the values of freedom and democracy, write to you — to the President of the United States, to Congress, and to the great American nation.

We deeply understand and respect your administration’s determination to restore order in the immigration system, secure the nation’s borders, and prevent dangerous individuals — criminals, drug traffickers, and violent offenders — from entering the country.

We share this concern, because we ourselves have suffered from lawlessness and violence in our own country. We know what it means to live under fear and repression, and we especially value America’s commitment to the rule of law, justice, and freedom.

At the same time, we are concerned that the recent tightening of immigration enforcement is not always carried out with the necessary precision. As a result, people who pose no threat whatsoever — individuals who fully embrace American values and seek to become part of a free and lawful society — are being harmed. The system, regrettably, does not distinguish carefully between threats and allies, and this leads to tragedies that could have been avoided.

We are allies of the United States in the global fight for freedom and democracy. And that is why we must call your attention to a number of cases that have already resulted in tragedy — or pose a very real and immediate threat:

Leonid Melekhin, a 35-year-old activist from Perm and supporter of Alexei Navalny, was held in immigration detention in the United States and sought political asylum. Despite substantial evidence of persecution in Russia — including his designation by the Russian authorities as a “terrorist and extremist” for his political views — immigration authorities denied his asylum claim. Following the final rejection, he was forced to leave the country. Upon his return to Russia, he was immediately arrested and placed in pre-trial detention on politically motivated charges of “justifying terrorism,” brought solely for anti-war speech and a protest poster featuring Vladimir Putin. In effect, the United States failed to protect a persecuted dissident and delivered him into the hands of a repressive regime.

Evgeny Mashinin, a 27-year-old activist from the Vladimir region, had been detained multiple times in Russia for participating in peaceful anti-corruption and anti-war protests. He won a case against the Russian government at the European Court of Human Rights. In 2023, he crossed the Mexico–US border and spent 13 months in immigration detention. In January 2025, his asylum claim was denied, and he was deported to Russia, where he was again detained. Russian authorities charged him with “discrediting the army” and fined him, in addition to placing him under arrest for two days. Fearing further prosecution, he fled Russia again.

Vladislav Krasnov, a civic activist and one of the coordinators of the “Indefinite Protest” movement, is currently in the United States and facing deportation. He fled Russia in 2022 under the threat of criminal prosecution for his participation in peaceful demonstrations. After being detained at the US border, he spent 14 months in immigration detention. His asylum application was denied. Now he faces the real threat of forced return to Russia, where arrest or military conscription into the war against Ukraine awaits him. He has stated clearly: “I cannot return to Russia, I face not freedom there, but prison or the front line”.

Why We Are Afraid

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — and the subsequent escalation of domestic repression — hundreds of Russian activists, human rights defenders, and military draft resisters have fled the country in search of asylum in the United States.

Three years later, under newly tightened immigration policies, even clear-cut cases of political persecution are being disregarded. Deportations are carried out swiftly, without thorough examination, often under the formal pretext of “immigration violations”. This creates an atmosphere of fear and panic among Russian exiles in the United States. People are terrified that they may be detained at any moment and sent back to Russia — to prison, or to war.

What makes this fear even more real is the Russian government’s systematic abuse of international mechanisms such as Interpol’s Red Notice system. Moscow has repeatedly used Red Notices not to pursue legitimate criminals, but to target political opponents and critics abroad. These politically motivated alerts are often accepted at face value by US authorities, resulting in the arrest and prolonged detention of individuals who are in fact victims of political persecution.

Our Plea and Our Hope

We are not asking for open borders. We are not advocating lawlessness. We ask only one thing: do not hand over to the Russian authorities those individuals who are being targeted for their beliefs and their words.

Russian opposition activists are committed supporters of freedom, democratic institutions, the rule of law, freedom of speech, and individual rights. We fled an authoritarian regime that trampled on these values — and found hope in America. We respect American traditions, love this country, strive to work, serve, and contribute to society, and are proud to stand on the same ground that once gave refuge to Nobel laureate and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

We ask that you do not deport to Russia those who are at risk of persecution for their opposition or anti-war activity. Please protect us and our families.

We respectfully urge US authorities to recognize that many criminal charges brought by the Russian Federation against political dissidents are not legitimate acts of justice, but tools of repression. In particular, we ask that no Russian nationals be detained or arrested in the United States solely on the basis of Interpol Red Notices, extradition requests, or other alerts tied to the following politically motivated articles of the Russian Criminal Code:
— Article 205.2 – Public justification of terrorism (those who disagree with the authorities or support Ukraine have been equated with terrorists)
— Article 207.3 – Dissemination of “false information” about the Russian army (in Russia, proven cases of crimes committed by the Russian army are labeled as “fakes”)
— Article 280 – Public calls for extremist activity (any serious opposition to Putin in Russia is labeled as extremism)
— Article 280.1 – Public calls for actions undermining the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation (punishment for failure to recognize Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine as part of the Russian Federation)
— Article 282 – Incitement of hatred or enmity (this article of the Criminal Code is applied, for example, for calls to investigate corruption)
— Article 275 – High treason (often used against journalists and civil society actors)
— Article 284.1 – Activities of an “undesirable” organization (any organizations not controlled by the Kremlin are declared undesirable)
— Article 239 – Creation of a non-governmental organization infringing on citizens’ rights
— Article 212.1 – Repeated violation of rules for public assemblies
— Article 330.1 – Failure to register as a “foreign agent” (unlike the American law, Russia’s “foreign agent” law is applied to anyone who criticizes the authorities).
These articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are used to persecute political opponents.

The United States has always been a symbol of freedom — a refuge for dissidents from the Soviet Union, China, Iran, and beyond. Today, a new generation of Russians who dared to stand up against dictatorship and war stands at the brink of betrayal. If they are deported, their lives may be shattered with the silent consent of the United States.

We appeal to you: do not hand us over to our persecutors. Do not allow America to become complicit in repression. Preserve the America that gave hope to the oppressed. We believe you will hear us — and stand with those who chose freedom.

God bless America.

Respectfully,
Representatives of the Russian opposition, independent journalists, writers, human rights defenders, and all those who share the values of freedom and democracy
July 31, 2025

It doesn’t matter who you are — an American citizen, a Ukrainian, or a Russian — you can add your signature if you agree with the content of this open letter and stand against handing over Russian citizens who openly oppose the crimes of the Putin regime!

Thank you for your signature! We would appreciate it if you shared this letter on your social networks!
Send the link to this Open Letter to your representative!

First and Last Name:

Email:

Country:

By signing, you agree to the publication of your full name, the country you specified, and a brief description you provided. You also consent to receive notifications and informational updates related to this petition at the email address you provided.

It doesn’t matter who you are — an American citizen, a Ukrainian, or a Russian — you can add your signature if you agree with the content of this open letter and stand against handing over Russian citizens who openly oppose the crimes of the Putin regime!

Download PDF version

Send the link to this Open Letter to your representative!

1. Go to the website: www.house.gov — enter your zip code and get the name and website address of your representative.

2. Go to your representative’s website and open the “Contact” section.

3. Fill out the contact form and insert the following cover text:

I am one of the signers of the recent Open Letter addressed to the President, Congress, and the American people, available here: https://mostnews.org/en/openletter/1 — The letter raises concern about Russian opposition members, anti-war activists, and journalists who face prison or forced mobilization if deported back to Russia. I respectfully ask you to consider this issue and support measures that would prevent the deportation of political dissidents into the hands of an authoritarian regime. Thank you for your attention.

Click on the text to copy it

This open letter is available in the following languages:
English Русский Español Français Deutsch

Open Letter

to President Donald J. Trump, Members of Congress, and the American People

Why We Are Afraid

Our Plea and Our Hope

Crypto wallets:

It doesn’t matter who you are — an American citizen, a Ukrainian, or a Russian — you can add your signature if you agree with the content of this open letter and stand against handing over Russian citizens who openly oppose the crimes of the Putin regime!

Send the link to this Open Letter to your representative!