An Israeli woman holding dual citizenship has been sent to prison in Russia following a donation of roughly $20 to an opposition group, made years before the organization was outlawed. Sofia Rosenfeld, a 50-year-old senior scientist living in Moscow, was sentenced by the Gagarinsky District Court to three and a half years in prison for financing an "extremist organization."
Her father, Boris Rosenfeld, spoke with Israeli media and described in deep concern the Kafkaesque sequence of events that led to his daughter's arrest and the harsh conditions of her detention behind bars.
Rosenfeld immigrated to Israel with her family in 1990 at age 14, then returned to Russia a year and a half later to complete her studies. She built a successful academic career as a senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Despite her life in Moscow, she maintained a deep connection to Israel, kept her citizenship, and made a point of visiting the country every year. Her father shared in an interview with N12 that "she visited Israel every year, represented Israel in international competitions when she was young, and her entire family is here."
The roots of the case go back to the summer of 2021, when Sofia set up a standing order for a symbolic sum of about 80 shekels (roughly $12 to $14, or 2,000 rubles in two payments) to the anti-corruption fund of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. At the time the donation was made, the organization operated entirely within the law. But while she was on a research expedition in the Arctic, the Russian authorities declared the organization "extremist" and outlawed it. Cut off from communication at the time, she had no way of knowing about the legal change, and as soon as she returned to Moscow in early September she canceled the standing order. By then, however, two payments had already gone through.
For four years there was silence, and Sofia continued with her routine. The turning point came in late November 2025, just two days after she returned from a family visit to Israel, when Russian security forces raided her home and filed charges against her. Despite the proceedings she remained free under a ban on leaving Moscow, and she estimated the case would end with a light penalty. In a conversation with N12, her father said: "We are very worried. She thought it would end with a fine or community service, we didn't expect a prison sentence of several years over a donation that comes to less than 80 shekels."
The harsh surprise came on Wednesday, October 7, when the court handed down a prison sentence and she was taken directly from the courtroom to jail. Her father addressed the disturbing timing in an interview with Ynet and said that "the sentence was given on October 7, and it's a symbolic sentence. This whole process is exactly Kafka." In the interview with Ynet he added and expressed frustration at the inability to make contact with her: "There's no way to speak with her. Correspondence is only possible through letters via the Russian prison service. I wrote a short letter, but because of the censorship you can't convey any meaningful message in it." In the conversation with N12 he added: "We're under insane pressure, there aren't even family visits because there hasn't been an appeal yet. Our last hope depends on the appeal, we have hope, but it's very weak."
The family members are not rushing to conclude that the motive is antisemitic, but Boris Rosenfeld noted to Ynet that political aspects or Russian attempts to create bargaining chips cannot be ruled out: "I don't know if there's antisemitism and anti-Israeliness in this sentence. It's possible that Russia is seeking to arrest Israelis in order to negotiate a deal. It's a black box there." The Foreign Ministry responded to both media outlets that the ministry "is in contact with the family and is working with the authorities in Russia to provide consular services."
This case does not stand alone, but fits into a broader pattern of political persecution in Russia. According to data from the monitoring groups Mediazona and The Insider, some 220 people have been prosecuted in recent years for donations to Navalny's fund, and about 24 actual prison sentences have been handed down. Sofia Rosenfeld's case is only the third in which a woman has been sent to prison in Russia for a donation to Navalny's organization, and only the second case in which an Israeli citizen has been sentenced to actual imprisonment in Russia in a political case not in absentia.
