Press Release, 24.04.2026

Photo: Grigory Gribenko after the court hearing / Photo by Pavel Kharitonenko

Lawyer Svyatoslav Khromenkov, representing the interests of Irkutsk Yabloko leader Grigory Gribenko, has reported that the politician has been arrested for 12 days under the provision of the Code of Administrative Offences concerning the consumption of “narcotic or psychotropic substances without a doctor’s prescription” (Article 6.9 Part 1 of the Code). The police insisted that Gribenko undergo testing on the spot at the police station following his detention the previous day; however, the politician refused, fearing that the results would be falsified.

Gribenko had previously undergone testing whose results were subsequently contradicted by the findings of an independent laboratory (the first episode is described here). Gribenko stated that following his detention on the previous day he had had no opportunity to undergo alternative testing at an independent laboratory, and therefore considered that, without examination at a specialist facility, the results could be falsified.

The politician regards these repeated checks as a politically motivated persecution.

A chronology of events:

On the previous day, 23 April, a “search” of Grigory Gribenko’s flat in the town of Shelekhov was carried out. Following the politician’s detention, his two-year-old daughter was left unsupervised — without her detained father or any other relatives — for nearly five minutes (video footage is held by the defence and Yabloko representatives).

“The search of the premises was conducted as part of investigative measures carried out pursuant to a warrant issued by the Irkutsk Regional Court. Allegedly, a group of drug couriers had been operating in the area, and this served as the grounds to enter the residential premises where he [Gribenko] lives with his family and search it in connection with possible involvement in that group’s activities,” lawyer Svyatoslav Khromenkov describes.

The police then stated that they had “grounds to believe” that Gribenko was in a state of intoxication. He was detained and taken to the police station, where he was pressured into undergoing testing.

He was subsequently given access to his lawyer, who accompanied Grigory Gribenko during questioning. The politician was held at the police station overnight, having been informed that in the morning he would face proceedings on an administrative charge of failing to comply with lawful police orders (Article 19.3 of the Code).

However, on the afternoon of 24 April he was brought to court, where his case was heard under Article 6.9 of the Code (“narcotic or psychotropic substances without a doctor’s prescription”).

Lawyer Svyatoslav Khromenkov has emphasised that the arrest order will be appealed.

Yabloko regards what is happening as pressure exerted by the Irkutsk authorities on Grigory Gribenko and on the Yabloko party as a whole. Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov points to three reasons for this. The first is Grigory Gribenko’s organisation of a rally in Irkutsk against the blocking of Telegram, which was initially approved and then cancelled on account of the “large number of potential participants”. The second is the party’s opposition to the law on the wholesale felling of forests around Lake Baikal, which was actively lobbied by deputies from the Irkutsk region.

“According to our investigation, deputies Ten, Yakubovsky, Senator Brilka, and others may have personal business interests in the felling of rare forests. And the local authorities cannot forgive Yabloko’s participation in the rally in defence of Baikal in December 2025,” Nikolai Rybakov notes.

Thirdly, attempts are being made to intimidate Grigory Gribenko ahead of the forthcoming State Duma elections, as the authorities are aware that, according to all polls, public protest sentiment is growing on account of the military operations and internet blockages, while their own approval ratings are visibly falling.

“I want everyone to know: we will defend and stand up for Grigory Gribenko and our other friends and colleagues. And we, Yabloko, will continue our work despite the pressure,” Nikolai Rybakov emphasises.

It should be noted that over the past several months Grigory Gribenko has faced pressure from the Irkutsk authorities in connection with his attempts to hold a rally in the city in defence of Telegram and “For a Free Internet”. He is taking legal action against the Irkutsk city administration over its unlawful refusals to approve the event (which was originally due to take place on 1 March; according to the authorities’ own assessment, as many as 70,000 people could have attended given the wide public resonance surrounding the issue of Internet blockages).

On 10 April, the security services mounted an operation targeting Gribenko and subsequently compelled him to undergo sobriety testing. Fearing that the results would be falsified at a municipal laboratory, the politician had his tests conducted at an independent clinic. The results of both tests were published previously here. As expected, the results of the private laboratory tests showed the complete absence of any intoxicating or otherwise prohibited substances.