Quakers back jailed Indigenous climate leaders
Quakers in Britain has signed an international statement calling for the release of two women imprisoned in Russia for their work defending Indigenous rights and the climate.
Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt were arrested by Russian authorities in December 2025, and charged with involvement in a "terrorist organisation".
Quakers in Britain joined more than 100 organisations including Amnesty International and Greenpeace International in signing a statement calling for the women's immediate and unconditional release.
Both Egereva and Leongardt are alleged to be associated with Aborigen Forum, an Indigenous human rights network, which was designated a “terrorist organisation" by the Russian authorities in December 2024.
This designation came even though its members have never engaged in any acts that could meet the threshold of terrorism and the network itself had dissolved earlier in the year.
Chair of key Indigenous forum at COP30
Egereva is a member of the Selkup people, an Indigenous community of 3,500 people residing in Siberia.
She had attended UN climate conferences and co-chaired a key Indigenous forum at COP30 just weeks before her arrest.
Many human rights groups believe she was targeted in retaliation for that work.
Leongardt, who worked alongside Egereva to support Indigenous communities, was detained in the same wave of arrests by Russia's Federal Security Service.
At least 17 other Indigenous leaders were caught up in the same operation.
Both women remain in a Moscow detention centre. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison. Their appeal against pre-trial detention was heard behind closed doors and rejected.
UN Special Rapporteurs have condemned what they describe as Russia's deliberate use of counter-terrorism laws to silence dissent and dismantle civil society.
Tanya Jones, climate justice lead for Quakers in Britain, said: "At the heart of our faith is a commitment to truth, justice and the dignity of every person.
“Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt were doing vital work protecting both people and the planet. Imprisoning them for that is a profound injustice, and we stand with those calling for their freedom."
The statement also calls on all states to use their diplomatic influence to press Russia to end what signatories describe as the criminalisation of peaceful human rights work.