On Tuesday, the United States imposed sanctions on Russian judge Olesya Mendeleeva for her role in the detention of human rights activist Alexei Gorinov, who opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

The Treasury stated that Mendeleeva was responsible for the "ongoing arbitrary detention" of Gorinov, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in July 2022 for publicly speaking out against the war. Gorinov, a former district council member in Moscow, became the first person jailed under Russia's new war censorship laws after he spoke out about the war's devastating effects, particularly on Ukrainian children.

The Treasury also noted that Mendeleeva is known for issuing long and severe sentences, and she convicted Gorinov of spreading "false information" about the Russian military, making her the first judge to impose such a verdict in Russia. Gorinov was initially arrested after he proposed a moment of silence during a March 2022 district council meeting, where he described the conflict as a "war" and discussed the death of children in Ukraine.

The Treasury also reported that Gorinov, 63, has faced physical abuse and been denied medical care while incarcerated. In November, he was sentenced to an additional three years in a penal colony after being convicted of "justifying terrorism" for allegedly discussing terrorism with fellow prisoners.

Bradley Smith, the acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, condemned Russia's legal system as a tool for silencing dissent and obscuring the truth about its war on Ukraine. Gorinov, who is in poor health, remains one of the most well-known political prisoners in Russia, despite a prisoner exchange in August that led to the release of other dissidents, including opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza and human rights activist Oleg Orlov.

Public opposition to the war is rare in Russia due to the intense crackdown on dissent, and the Kremlin typically defends its legal actions as necessary to combat subversive activity during wartime. Similar to dissident Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony in February, Gorinov has faced consecutive sentences related to alleged offenses committed while already in prison.