Israeli Researcher Jailed 3.5 Years in Russia for Navalny Foundation Donations
Translated & summarized from i24NEWS French by baba
Sofia Rosenfeld, a 50-year-old Israeli researcher, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in Russia for donating a total of $40 to Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation in 2021. She was arrested in court after the verdict. Her father is seeking consular assistance and plans to appeal, but is not optimistic. Rosenfeld claims the donations were automatic and she was unaware they continued after the foundation was banned.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Sofia Rosenfeld, an Israeli researcher, received a 3.5-year prison sentence in Russia for donating $40 to Navalny's foundation.
- Rosenfeld was arrested in the courtroom after the verdict was announced on Wednesday.
- Her father, Boris Rosenfeld, is seeking consular help and plans to appeal the conviction.
- The donations were made in 2021, but charges were brought in late 2025.
- Rosenfeld claims the payments were automatic and she was unaware of continued deductions.
- She acknowledged the payments but denied criminal intent, stating support for anti-corruption efforts.
Sofia Rosenfeld, a 50-year-old Israeli researcher, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in Russia for financing an organization deemed extremist by Russian authorities. The conviction stems from two donations of 1,000 rubles (approximately $20) each, made in 2021 to the Anti-Corruption Foundation of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Rosenfeld was arrested in the courtroom immediately after the verdict was announced.
Her father, Boris Rosenfeld, stated that his daughter had contacted the Israeli consulate in Moscow before the trial, but was told they could not intervene. Following the sentencing, he requested a consular visit for his daughter, with the request expected to be reviewed on Sunday. He also intends to appeal the decision, though he expressed pessimism, believing the verdict was predetermined. Russian police reportedly visited Rosenfeld's home in late 2025, nearly four years after the donations, to inform her of the charges, and she was subsequently barred from leaving Moscow.
Rosenfeld, a biologist specializing in Arctic geese, explained that the payments were automatically deducted while she was on a long scientific expedition in the Arctic. She claimed she was unaware the donations continued after the foundation was banned in Russia and canceled the recurring payment upon her return to Moscow in September. She told the court that she had subscribed to a monthly donation before the foundation was declared extremist, acknowledging the payments but denying criminal intent, stating her aim was to support the fight against corruption.
The prosecution had sought a five-year sentence, while the defense argued that her actions posed no danger to society. Rosenfeld, who immigrated to Israel with her family in the early 1990s but returned to Russia at age 15 for her studies and scientific career, maintained ties to Israel, visiting annually and participating in volunteer activities with Israeli ornithologists. She works as a researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Ecology and Evolution.
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