Sounding IV


The following individuals are currently imprisoned for refusing to accept the terms of power in their nations:

  1. Ilham Tohti (China) — Uyghur economist serving life imprisonment for advocating local autonomy and minority rights; believed to be held at Urumqi No. 1 Prison, Xinjiang. Imprisoned for approximately 12 years.
  2. Osman Kavala (Turkey) — Civil-society activist sentenced to life imprisonment; held at Marmara Prison Complex (Silivri), Istanbul Province. Imprisoned for approximately 9 years.
  3. Alexander Shestun (Russia) — Former politician and head of the Serpukhov district, imprisoned after questioning regional authorities and disclosing threats against him from senior officials; held in an undisclosed penal facility, likely in the Torzhok area. Imprisoned for approximately 8 years.
  4. Jimmy Lai (China) — Publisher and democracy advocate convicted under the Beijing-imposed national security law in Hong Kong; held at Stanley Prison, Hong Kong. Imprisoned for approximately 6 years, with a new 20-year sentence imposed in February 2026.
  5. Xu Zhiyong (China) — Legal scholar sentenced for promoting constitutional governance; imprisoned in Lunan Prison, Shandong. Imprisoned for approximately 6 years.
  6. Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar) — Former civilian leader detained by the ruling junta; held in detention in Naypyitaw (exact location undisclosed). Imprisoned for approximately 5 years.
  7. Chow Hang-tung (China) — Lawyer jailed for organizing public vigils commemorating the Tiananmen Square demonstrations; held at a Hong Kong correctional facility (specific location unknown). Imprisoned for approximately 5 years.
  8. Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (Cuba) — Performance artist and activist detained for crimes against state security and public discorder; held at Guanajay maximum-security prison, Artemisa Province. Imprisoned for approximately 5 years.
  9. Maria Kolesnikova (Belarus) — Opposition leader in the 2020 election protests, imprisoned after resisting forced exile; held at Penal Colony No. 4, Gomel. Imprisoned for approximately 5 years.
  10. Maykel Castillo Pérez (Cuba) — Musician behind Patria y Vida, imprisoned for contempt and public disorder; held at Kilo 8 prison, Pinar del Río Province. Imprisoned for approximately 5 years.
  11. Phạm Đoan Trang (Vietnam) — Independent journalist and author sentenced for “anti-state propaganda”; held at An Phước Prison, Bình Dương Province. Imprisoned for approximately 5 years.
  12. Alexei Gorinov (Russia) — Lawyer and deputy of Moscow’s Krasnoselsky District Council, imprisoned for referencing the war in Ukraine as a war, and, subsequently, for advocating terrorism; held at Corrective Colony No. 2 in Pokrov, Vladimir Oblast. Imprisoned for approximately 4 years.
  13. Pakhshan Azizi (Iran) — Kurdish journalist and social worker formerly active in women’s rights and humanitarian aid, imprisoned for armed rebellion and now facing a death sentence; held in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, Tehran. Imprisoned for approximately 3 years.
  14. Tofig Yagublu (Azerbaijan) — Politician, journalist and former deputy chairman of the Musavat party, imprisoned on smuggling charges; held at Pretrial Detention Center No. 1, Baku. Imprisoned for approximately 3 years.
  15. Ayman Bani Owda (Israel) — Palestinian human-rights defender and social worker held without trial under administrative detention authorized by a military court; held at Gilboa Prison, northern Israel. Imprisoned for approximately 1 year.
  16. Narges Mohammadi (Iran) — Nobel laureate imprisoned 13 times for opposing executions and advocating women’s rights; she is currently held in Evin prison, Tehran. For her most recent detention she has been imprisoned for approximately 1 year.
  17. Ekrem İmamoğlu (Turkey) — Istanbul’s elected mayor and a leading opposition figure in Turkey, detained for allegations of corruption, bribery, extortion and leading a criminal organization; held at Marmara Prison Complex (Silivri), Istanbul Province. Imprisoned for less than 1 year.


17 names. Out of more than 1 million.

 

Sources: Reuters; Associated Press; BBC; Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; United Nations reporting; and public legal records.