Argentine Authorities Are Holding Tourists Hostage - The Case of Konstantin Rudnev

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the United Nations, and several regional human rights initiatives have already taken up the Rudnev case. They have seen what is happening — and have called it what it is: a threat to life created by the state.

Argentina speaks of reform and the fight against corruption, but in reality people continue to be held behind bars for months — without a verdict and without a clear evidentiary basis.

For more than 9 months, a group of 20 Russian citizens — ordinary tourists — has been unable to leave Argentina. The government has confiscated their documents. And one of them, Konstantin Rudnev, is being held in the maximum-security Rawson Prison. This case has already gained international attention.

9 Months Without a Verdict

9 months without a single victim who could confirm the accusations. At the request of federal prosecutor Fernando Óscar Arrigo and his assistants Tomás Labal, Gustavo Javier Rebora, and Rodrigo Nicolás Treviranus, his detention has been extended for another four months — until April 3, 2026. In violation of all humanitarian principles, human rights, and the presumption of innocence.

“They are slowly killing him in prison,” Tamara Rudneva, Konstantin’s wife, stated in an interview.

What Happened in March 2025 in Bariloche (Argentina)?

Konstantin Rudnev, a 58-year-old Russian citizen, a tourist who came to Argentina to improve his health, was detained in Bariloche on charges that also do not withstand criticism. Moreover, the woman presented by the prosecution as an alleged victim denied any connection with him and publicly stated that she was under pressure from the authorities. Nevertheless, he remains in custody.

For the Russian authorities — and now for the Argentine authorities as well — he is an “dangerous cult leader.” For those who truly know him, however, he is an independent thinker, a spiritual seeker who has never harmed anyone, and whose only “sin” was speaking about inner freedom and truth.

From Seeker to Enemy of the System

In Russia, the media machine turned him into a monster in the eyes of public opinion: he was labeled a false guru, a tyrant, and even a sexual criminal — without convincing evidence. In 2010, he was detained during a demonstrative police operation. The charges were serious; however, no solid evidence was ever presented: the allegedly seized drugs contained neither his DNA nor traces of use, and the testimonies of the “victims” contradicted one another. Despite this, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison in a process riddled with violations and apparently aimed at silencing him.

An exclusive video is already available in which his close ones reveal what remained hidden for years. Watch it and learn the truth the media never told: watch on YouTube

Today, on the threshold of 60 years of age, he suffers from chronic illnesses and requires medical care. Instead of treatment, he is being held in a cell.

Doctors Luis Ernesto Sarotto and Mariano Duarte, two well-known specialists from the José de San Martín Hospital-Clinic, stated in their medical opinion that Unit 6 of Rawson Prison (Federal Penitentiary Service) “does not have the resources or personnel necessary to address the detainee’s clinical condition.”

According to Noticias Argentinas, the document containing this medical conclusion dated October 31, 2025, was included in the case file and warns of a gradual deterioration of Rudnev’s condition.

Both specialists emphasized that “the risk of a serious outcome increases with each passing day and that progressive pulmonary fibrosis requires constant monitoring of oxygen saturation, highly complex pharmacological treatment, and respiratory support in the event of deterioration.

He requires urgent hospitalization and constant care.

“Please, I ask that at least he be transferred to house arrest so that I can take care of him and treat him,” Konstantin Rudnev’s wife pleads in court.

Rudnev’s wife said that she is ready to speak out in any way necessary and to provide all documents, hiding nothing, so that the case may come to light.

On the official website of Konstantin Rudnev

Urgent messages calling for international solidarity are being published:

His health is deteriorating with each passing day as this injustice progresses.
Your support can save him.

The portal calls on everyone to mobilize:
Sign the petition: https://chng.it/TzmR9RVNZC

If society unites, Konstantin will be able to receive real help and return to his family.