A former political prisoner tried to leave Russia. After Belarus sent him back, he believes security officers tore pages from his passport so he ‘wouldn’t escape again.’
Security officers tore pages from former political prisoner Ivan Lyubshin’s passport, he told RusNews. Lyubshin faces another prison sentence after trying to leave Russia.
Former political prisoner Ivan Lyubshin claims security officers tore pages from his passport, preventing him from escaping Russia again. Lyubshin faces a new prison sentence after attempting to leave the country. He discovered the missing pages while visiting a bank. A passport with one or more pages torn out is considered invalid.
Lyubshin suspects Russian border guards, along with Kaluga "E Center" anti-extremism officers, Belarusian border guards, police officers, KGB officers, and FSB officers, may have been involved in the passport tampering. In 2020, Lyubshin received a five-year prison sentence for a social media post about an explosion at the FSB's headquarters in Arkhangelsk, where he called the perpetrator "at least the hero of the week."
He was released in March 2025 but was placed under eight years of court-ordered supervision. In spring 2026, Lyubshin traveled to Belarus to pick up a French humanitarian visa and emigrate to France. Belarusian border guards detained him and returned him to Russia, where authorities initiated a criminal case against him for evading court-ordered supervision.
Prosecutors are seeking a seven-month prison sentence. Lyubshin has served two jail terms for administrative offenses since May.
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