Natalya Filonova explained that she refused the pardon because it required admitting guilt. Her letter from the penal colony was published by human rights activist Svyatoslav Khromenkov on his Telegram channel.

Natalya said that in January an unknown female lawyer came to her in the colony. The lawyer did not reveal her employer but was "a mediator of some governmental NGO." In March, she came again and showed Natalya "printouts where I was pardoned by a high-ranking person." The convict added that before the verdict was announced in Ulan-Ude, an investigator had visited her and asked if she was ready to admit guilt to be released.

In her letter, Filonova also reported that she was placed in solitary confinement and put on a registry "for extremism." 

In Buryatia, she is known as a civil activist, and participant in numerous rallies, protest actions, and anti-war campaigns. She was not afraid to come out and publicly express her position both before the war and after it began, even when the authorities effectively introduced military censorship by enacting laws on 'discrediting' the Russian army and 'fakes' about the war.

In 2023, the October District Court of Ulan-Ude sentenced Natalya Filonova to 2 years and 10 months in a general regime colony, finding her guilty of assaulting a police officer during a rally against mobilization. The prosecution had requested three years in a colony. She did not admit her guilt.

Here's what Natalya said in an interview with a Sibir.Realii correspondent: 

“... It was not a rally, not a protest action. We went out to "Open Microphone" (an independent YouTube channel in Buryatia), broadcast live from the Theater Square. People were expressing their opinions. It was raining, there were a few of us. At one point, a police officer approached us and saw that we were just standing peacefully, without posters or calls. He said that we had the right to be there if we did not disturb public order, everything was fine. He walked away. And just 15 minutes later, the police just ran up to us, grabbed us, and dragged us into the van.

“... Interestingly, they took all of us and even those random passers-by who passed by and just came to say hello to us. Among us was also a girl undergoing chemotherapy; she felt unwell. She cried, and was scared—it was her first time in a police station. We managed to convince the police to urgently call an ambulance for the girl, and she was taken to the hospital. In short, I tried in every way to protect my comrades. And defended my phone when they tried to take it away. They pushed me, I pushed back, and I was all bruised. On September 26, around three in the afternoon, Nadya and I were brought to the Soviet court, where we were supposed to be tried under Article 19.3. They started with me, Nadya was my defense counsel. The trial had just begun, and then the fire alarm went off. It was reported that the court was mined. We were all taken outside. We stood near the courthouse, waiting. People, our support group, approached. We stood and talked, I was not detained, it was allowed. And suddenly strange things started happening. I stood next to Nadya. Then a car pulls up, a policeman orders: "Take her to the October department, into the cell, and deal with her." I heard this with my ears and perceived it as a threat to life. The word "deal" I perceive as a reprisal. As the destruction of personality. And perhaps even molestation. Anything can be expected. 

“...They forcefully pushed me into the back seat, and the car immediately took off. There were four men in the car, and I was wedged between them in the back seat. Then another man of impressive appearance, whom I had never seen before, approached. I asked him, Please introduce yourself. I had prepared a pen and notebook. He started insulting me in response, like, who are you, and all that? I demanded an explanation of why I was being taken to the police station again, started to struggle, and a scuffle ensued. I had a pen in my hands all this time. They started beating me in the car, grabbing my arms. This unfamiliar man pinned me down. It was very tight, I was holding a pen, and he probably got scratched by this pen. They all squeezed me into the back seat. Everything happened quickly. But I repeat, I was sure that my life was in danger and therefore defended myself as best I could. This man, as it turned out later, a police major, had one scratch from the pen on his cheek. And two more marks - but no scratches.” 

Natalya's adopted son with disabilities, 16-year-old Vladimir Alalykin, was taken to an orphanage by the guardianship authorities. According to Nadezhda Nizovkina, there Vladimir is subjected to "ideological and political" pressure. The boy himself complained that he was being beaten and harassed there.