Corrections
We record every error we find here: what was wrong and what we changed. Nothing is removed silently.
8 October 2026 · Guide «Detained on the street or at a protest»
Point 2 only said that access to a lawyer is requested in writing. It did not say what to do if a separate written request is impossible, or how to ask for witnesses to be questioned.
What we changed. Point 2 was expanded after a lawyer's review: the request to admit defence counsel and to question witnesses can be written directly in the record under 'explanations'; with no witnesses of your own, you can ask for the detaining officers to be questioned. It now also says to name only witnesses who agree.
7 October 2026 · Urgent (English version): crisis lines
On the English page three numbers (Moscow psychological help service, Children's helpline, ERAN in Israel) had their explanations in Russian.
What we changed. The explanations are translated; the numbers did not change.
7 October 2026 · What happened → organisation cards; “Am I on a list?”
An organisation that the monthly check found active (for example Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan, with press releases in September) was listed under “Possibly not current” because our link checker could not open its site. For the same reason three ways to check yourself disappeared from “Am I on a list?”: the Rosfinmonitoring list, the criminal record certificate and the passport check (state sites do not open for a check from abroad).
What we changed. A failure of our link checker no longer moves a working organisation to “Possibly not current” or hides state sites: such a card stays on the list marked “link needs checking”, but is not used as the first button. The three ways to check yourself are back on the page.
7 October 2026 · Guide “Prison transfer: a relative has been moved and gone silent”
It said the colony must notify “a relative” of the prisoner's arrival, without saying the prisoner chooses which one; a family could think the colony broke the law.
What we changed. Clarified against art. 17 of the Penal Enforcement Code: within 10 days, one relative chosen by the prisoner; what to do if nobody has heard.
7 October 2026 · Guide “The consulate refuses a passport or documents”
It said the consulate could “only certify that the person is alive”. That applies only to notarial acts; a return document if a passport is lost and registering a birth, divorce or death are not banned.
What we changed. Clarified against Law 284-FZ.
7 October 2026 · Guide “My flat or accounts were arrested: what it means and what to do”
The same inaccuracy about the limit: pensions and benefits were listed together with salary.
What we changed. Clarified: the limit applies only to spending salary and other income.
7 October 2026 · Guide “I am on the Rosfinmonitoring list”
It said the monthly limit (minimum wage) also applied to pensions and benefits. Under Law 115-FZ it applies only to salary and other income.
What we changed. Clarified: pensions, student grants and benefits can be received and spent without a limit.
7 October 2026 · Guide “Likes, reposts, comments, Stars: what is risky”
The advice “do not forward even in private messages” read like a legal ban. For “undesirable” organisations this is not banned for now, according to OVD-Info.
What we changed. Kept as a precaution, with the reason: such messages show up if your phone is searched.
7 October 2026 · Guide “Donations, Telegram Stars and money”
It did not say that the date of designation matters: according to OVD-Info, donations made after designation are punished, not those made before.
What we changed. Added the point about the designation date; the advice to check the recipient's status stays.
7 October 2026 · All guides; the list of guides
For a few hours on 7 October every guide was headed “Memorial's lists” instead of “What human rights defenders advise”. The advice itself did not change. The cause was a code error in the new “Trends” section.
What we changed. The heading is fixed. An automatic check now stops the site from being published with such an error. Internal team notes were also removed from the “Urgent” and “Corrections” pages.
3 October 2026 · Help others → Kovcheg
The donate button pointed to donate.kovcheg.live. Since late September that address opens a different site (a diaspora navigator), not the donation page. SEPA transfer was listed as a method, but the organisation's site no longer offers it.
What we changed. The link now goes to the donation section of the official site kovcheg.live (card, crypto, PayPal); SEPA was removed. This entry was added on 7 October: it was missed when the fix was made on 3 October.
27 September 2026 · Guide 'Persecuted in Kazakhstan'
The text said the 'LGBT propaganda' ban has applied since 30.12.2025, with fines and up to 10 days' detention.
What we changed. Per the official text of law 248-VIII it was signed on 30.12.2025 and took effect on 2 March 2026; the law itself sets no penalties, so the fines and detention were removed pending a check.
26 September 2026 · 25 points in 17 guides, the glossary, the speech map and the Belarus donation warning
A primary-source legal check found 25 inaccuracies, including who is put on the 284-FZ register, the penalty for donating to a Belarusian 'formation' (up to 5 years, 8 for a repeat, not 7), freezing deadlines, when a forensic examination is free, pre-trial detention limits, handing over bank cards (art. 187), children under 14 travelling on a birth certificate, and the status of RDK and the Freedom of Russia Legion.
What we changed. Texts corrected against the laws (ConsultantPlus, pravo.by) and primary sources.
26 September 2026 · 69 guides, the glossary, organisation cards (editorial audit)
Guides contradicted each other on donations to 'undesirable' organisations, phone passcodes during searches, the witness exception to art. 51 and who is put on the Rosfinmonitoring list. Some guides repeated points, seven high-risk guides had no safety block, and designations were shown only at the bottom.
What we changed. Contradictions resolved from our own sources, repeats merged without losing facts, safety blocks added to seven guides, 25 guides now start with what to do, designations next to the organisation's name, abbreviations spelled out. Disputed legal points await a lawyer's review.
26 September 2026 · Speech map, guides on occupied territories, death in custody, likes and reposts, detention in Belarus, glossary, English Support page
Donations to 'undesirable' organisations were described as a fine first; donating to 'foreign agents' was called safe; a text said there is no forensic examination without a case; a line about transfers from an 'unlinked' card read like a loophole; editor's notes were published; the 'What to do' section of the speech map was empty.
What we changed. A donation to an 'undesirable' organisation is a criminal case at once (art. 284.1 part 2); a caveat that many 'foreign agents' are also 'undesirable'; an examination can be requested before a case is opened (art. 144 part 1 CPC); transfers to army channels are dangerous from any card; editor's notes removed; 'What to do' visible again.
26 September 2026 · Cards of Quarteera, Russie-Libertés, ProtectDefenders.eu; speech map, 'Where to get help'
Three organisations were shown without their 'undesirable' designation. Roskomsvoboda was listed as a place to get help although it has not worked since September 2025.
What we changed. Added the 'undesirable' designation (Quarteera since 14.09.2026, Russie-Libertés since 01.02.2024, ProtectDefenders.eu since August 2025); contact and donation buttons now carry a warning. Roskomsvoboda removed from the help list.
26 September 2026 · Situation 'Torture and violence by security forces', guides on documenting torture and on international complaints, glossary (ECHR)
The texts said complaints against Russia to the ECHR are possible for events before 16 September 2022, without a caveat.
What we changed. On 3 September 2026 the ECHR published its decision in Lebedeva and 878 others and struck out all remaining complaints against Russia not related to the war. The main route now is the UN committees and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
26 September 2026 · Guides 'Arrest of property and accounts of people who left' and 'I am on the Rosfinmonitoring list'
The texts said a court decides on arresting the property of people abroad 'within one working day' and that the arrest follows a fine; the article number was given as '20.34'; and that property deals for listed people are possible with Rosfinmonitoring's permission.
What we changed. Per the law: the arrest is possible once the case is opened and only for acts abroad, the court decides no later than the next day, other property is arrested if accounts do not cover it, the article is 20.3.4. For listed people, registration of property deals is suspended until removal from the list; the law has no permission procedure.
26 September 2026 · Guides 'Phone check' and 'Connectivity and VPN'; the Safety page
The texts said the rule on border phone checks was not public, that Telegram works intermittently in Russia and that an empty phone raises questions. Outdated: law 257-FZ has been in force since 23 July 2025 with a penalty under art. 18.7 of the Code of Administrative Offences for refusing to hand over a device; Telegram has been almost completely blocked since April 2026; an empty phone is better than your main one if there was no time to prepare an ordinary one.
What we changed. The texts were updated and sources added.
26 September 2026 · Help others → Donate; News
On the donation page Meduza, The Insider and iStories were missing the 'foreign agent' designation, and Mediazona was missing its Belarus mark. News items from Memorial and Vot Tak did not show their designations.
What we changed. Designations were reconciled across all sections. The site now will not build if one organisation has different designations in different places.
26 September 2026 · What happened → Human Constanta, Free Belarus Center, Sphere
The warning before the contact button said three organisations are designated 'extremist' in Russia. That was wrong. Human Constanta was designated an 'extremist formation' in Belarus in May 2026, and we showed an outdated status (materials only). For Free Belarus Center only its materials are designated 'extremist' in Belarus. Sphere itself is not designated; in Russia the 'LGBT movement' is.
What we changed. Human Constanta's status was updated. Each of the three organisations now has an accurate warning. Russian and Belarusian designations are checked separately.
26 September 2026 · Guides 'Donations' and 'Released'
The guides said a person on the Rosfinmonitoring list may spend no more than 10,000 roubles a month. That limit was abolished on 1 June 2025.
What we changed. They now say income may be spent within the minimum wage per month for the person and each dependent family member (27,093 roubles in 2026).
26 September 2026 · What happened → OVD-Info
The OVD-Info card listed the 8 800 hotline number. According to the organisation itself, the hotline has been switched off.
What we changed. The number was removed; the card says only the bot works. A warning about the organisation's status was added.
26 September 2026 · What happened, guides → RosUznik
RosUznik was listed as an active service for letters to political prisoners. The freshness audit found it has not been updated since June 2024 and still lists people who have been released.
What we changed. RosUznik was removed from the directory, the guides' tools and the letter-writing rules. Addresses can be found in the Vestochka directory.
26 September 2026 · What happened → Freedom Now
The link pointed to freedomnow.org, a domain that does not belong to the organisation and was up for sale; anyone could have bought it.
What we changed. The link now points to the official site freedom-now.org. All 72 contacts in the directory were re-checked against the organisations' own sites.