The watchdog organization Amnesty International has come out with a report detailing how the Russian government is manipulating anti-terrorism legislation to stifle dissent.

The report, titled Terrorising the Dissent: Abuse of Terrorism-related Charges in Russia, notes that an expansive interpretation of laws aimed at combating violent extremism is being used to crush all forms of criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s rule, in particular opposition to the Kremlin’s conduct of the war in Ukraine.

Russian citizens now run the risk of being labeled a terrorist and/or extremist for non-violent acts such as posting an online comment critical of government policy, donating to an individual or cause not favored by the government or publicly mourning the death of a dissident.

“These laws, vague in their wording and arbitrary in their application, are used to silence voices of opposition and instill fear among those who dare to speak out,” Oleg Kozlovsky, Amnesty International’s Russia Researcher, said in a statement. “Authorities are able to label individuals as ‘terrorists’ and ‘extremists’ and cut them off from financial services and basic income without even needing a court order.”

One case cited in the Amnesty report concerns Evgeny Molotov, an opposition activist in the northwestern city of Vologda, who in early 2024 was charged under anti-terrorism laws for making a small donation to the late Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation almost three years ago. Molotov faces an eight-year prison term, if convicted. Amnesty noted that since 2015, no one charged under anti-terrorism legislation has been acquitted.

Among the more “egregious” abuses of justice, Amnesty asserted, is the case of Aleksei Gorinov, a Moscow regional municipal councilor who received a seven-year sentence for criticizing the war in Ukraine. While already imprisoned, Gorinov was subjected to a new criminal charge “for allegedly sharing his views on the war with his cellmate,” the report states.

A criminal conviction isn’t needed to punish dissenters. Simply being included on a government list of suspected extremists is sufficient to effectively muzzle Kremlin critics.

“As of December 2023, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service’s ‘List of Terrorists and Extremists’ included 13,647 people, with 11,286 labeled as ‘terrorists.’ Of them, 13 percent were women and 106 were under 18 years old,” according to an Amnesty International statement. “Being included in this registry, which happens without any judicial review, leads to the freezing of bank accounts and restricts monthly spending to 10,000 roubles, or around US $110. It poses significant challenges in maintaining even basic living standards for those listed.”