Press Release, 25.08.2026

Photo: Maxim Kruglov in court / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The family of Yabloko Deputy Chairman Maxim Kruglov, who was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony, has appealed to Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova for help in arranging specialised medical care for the politician. Kruglov is awaiting the outcome of his appeal in Moscow’s Butyrka pre-trial detention facility.

For several months now, Maxim Kruglov has been suffering severe pain in his right shoulder. Even simple movements — putting on clothes or reaching an arm behind his back — cause sharp pain. This intensifies particularly when his arms are pulled behind his back to put on handcuffs.

Kruglov’s shoulder joint problems were diagnosed earlier. In 2023 he underwent surgery on his right shoulder, after which it took more than six months to recover mobility.

Over the past week, Kruglov has been given painkilling injections at the detention facility, but they are not helping: the pain persists and movement of the arm remains severely limited.

The politician’s family is asking the Human Rights Commissioner, and anyone else who can influence the situation, to help arrange a specialised examination and treatment. His relatives are asking for Maxim Kruglov to be sent to Moscow City Hospital No. 20, where specialists are available who are able to examine and treat this kind of shoulder joint condition.

“A person held in a pre-trial detention facility must have access to the medical care they need — especially when it concerns a joint that has previously been operated on, and severe pain that painkillers are not relieving,” the family’s appeal states.

The appeal against Maxim Kruglov’s sentence will be heard on 31 August. The hearing will begin at 9 am at the Moscow City Court (8 Bogorodsky Val Street, Room 307) and will be open to the public.

Yabloko Deputy Chairman Maxim Kruglov was sentenced on 24 June 2026 to seven years in a general-regime penal colony and a three-year ban on administering websites, under the article on “disseminating information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” (Article 207.3, Part 2, Clause “d” of the Criminal Code), over two Telegram posts. Kruglov has been deprived of his liberty since 1 October 2025.