Statements

October 2, 2025 - Moscow: There is new evidence coming out of Russia supporting Jimmy’s claim that he has been wrongfully detained in a Russian prison, as well as unlawfully detained.

There is a terrible injustice in the application of Article 132 of the Penal Code in Russia. Now, many attorneys in Russia are challenging these Articles because they have been misapplied in too many cases. They are protesting for a change to articles 131 – 135 of the Code, with focus on Article 132, the most abused article. The movement is called STOP 132, also known as CRON 132. Here is a translation of a news story:

“The ice has slowly broke. Today, E. M. Merkacheva*, a member of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council, sent a request to the new Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, A. V. Gutsan, asking about creating a working group to investigate Article 132 of the Russian Criminal Code. She also requested a review of my client's case. We are waiting and hoping for positive results. (October 2, 2025)”

There is a lot of activity on Russian social media on this subject. Here is a translation to English on the objective of this group:

“Stop 132 - This group was created to provide assistance to those wrongfully convicted under Articles 131-135 of the Russian Criminal Code. We support the implementation and observance of the law! We are against real rapists! We fight against the falsification of criminal cases!”

The following are examples of social media comments from Russian lawyers on behalf of their clients regarding Article 132 and all its subcategories:

Larisa Rogacheva- The Ministry of Justice won't do anything. We need to approach this from the opposite angle. Change the law on video interrogations of children, immediately remove their mothers from their homes, transfer the victims from their families to the hospital, where they won't be subject to any pressure from their mothers, grandmothers, or other relatives. Conduct interrogations in the presence of the defendants' lawyers, allowing them to ask their own questions.
Punish investigators for every small, trivial, micro-violation of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Constitution, and other laws!
Falsification of evidence by investigators, witnesses, experts, and witnesses should be met with the most severe punishment. Sentences should be increased, as for the most heinous criminals.
Therefore, we must begin by holding accountable those responsible for finding, submitting, and legally securing evidence, not inventing it, much less falsifying it. Oct 1 at 7:53 pm Source: vk.com

​Larisa Umnova- I think all cases should be reviewed. We need to get what we want, so the innocent can go free. And the investigators and judges need to be punished so they understand they need to work conscientiously.

21 Show likes September 30 at 6:56 pm Source: vk.com

Ilnur Zagidullin- How many innocent people are sitting under this article? We need to demand from the law the legality of actions, and not just consider cases and avoid prison terms. More than 10,000 innocent people in Russia are sitting under this article.

12 Show likes September 30 at 7:37 pm Source: vk.com

Alex Drugoff- For some reason, it's only Article 132. The same problem exists under Article 131. And it's also completely absurd.

8 Show likes September 30 at 7:40 pm Source: vk.com

Larisa Naryzhnaya- It is necessary to punish slanderers, slanderers and employees who dishonestly perform their duties (by deception and violence - they beat out testimony) ... What, actions are they better than people who committed a crime?.?.?.

Show likes October 6 at 7:40 am Source: vk.com

There are endless comments on social media, but those shown should give you a general idea of what has been going on. The question is what the USDOS will do about this injustice to Jimmy Wilgus. There is no doubt he is unlawfully detained by the Russian Federation and should be classified as such. When will the U.S. rectify foreign injustices against American citizens?

This NEW EVIDENCE was submitted to Jimmy’s attorney’s, Gibbon’s Law, who filed a lawsuit demanding USDOS declare Jimmy as wrongfully detained, and Judicial Watch who is requesting records under the FOIA Act showing why Jimmy has not been classified as wrongfully detained. Anyone who wants to see these lawsuits can write to jameslwilgus@gmail.com

To refresh your memory, Jimmy was convicted and sentenced in accordance with Article 132 of the Russian Penal Code. It’s important to know that Jimmy did not commit the crime for which he was convicted and sentenced. He was the victim of a corrupt justice system. We have been saying this for 9 years, since we visited our son in his Moscow detention center in March 2017 awaiting trial and he told us what happened. No one from the U.S. has ever interviewed Jimmy and asked him what happened. He was originally arrested in violation of Article 135, but somehow that got changed to Article 132. He is clearly wrongfully detained but it seems our Dept. of State is only interested in what the Russians tell them. It's time to classify Jimmy as wrongfully detained, and even unlawfully detained based on this new information.

Jimmy has met many prisoners over the past 9+ years that have been falsely given sentences up to 20 years under Article 132. He has also encountered murders who got sentenced 7-10 years, less than a sexual assault sentence. An axe murderer with Jimmy was sentenced to 10 years and is now eligible for parole. He will be out before Jimmy unless the U.S. negotiates Jimmy’s release. Those sentenced under Article 132 do not get parole even though they are eligible.

*E.M. Merkacheva, also known as Eva Merkacheva, is a prominent Russian journalist, writer, and human rights advocate, known for her investigative reporting on Russia’s penitentiary system and criminal cases, as well as her extensive work in prison reform and civil rights activism.