The Moscow-based human rights center Memorial has recognized a Chechen journalist Zhalaudi Geriyev as a political prisoner.
In an October 17 statement, Memorial said Geriyev's imprisonment was linked to his professional activities.
On September 5, a court in Chechnya found Geriyev guilty of marijuana possession and sentenced him to three years in jail.
Geriyev had denied the charges, while New York-based Human Rights Watch said he was being "punished" for his work as a journalist.
Geriyev, a contributor to the website Caucasian Knot, has been known for his reporting on human rights in Chechnya, which is tightly controlled by Kremlin-backed Ramzan Kadyrov.
Rights activists have blamed Kadyrov and his paramilitary forces for serious rights abuses, including the widespread use of kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial murders.