Colleague of rights defender Nagavkin points to gross violation of his rights in colony

A trial has been launched in the town of Uryupinsk against Igor Nagavkin, a human rights defender, who is serving his term at a penal colony there. According to Valentin Bogdan, also a human rights defender, the colony bosses have grossly violated the law by leaving Nagavkin in the dungeon (punishment cell) for two consecutive terms.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Nagavkin had complained about the convicts' custody conditions at the settlement colony located in the Volgograd Region, where he is serving his term, and demanded an inspection. On November 19, it became known that Nagavkin was placed into the dungeon, where he went on a hunger strike. After this, the colony bosses extended his stay in the dungeon and, treating him as a malicious violator, are drafting documents to transfer Nagavkin to a general regime colony. On December 13, it became known that Nagavkin was not released from the dungeon, although the term of his second consecutive term there had expired.

Valentin Bogdan, who is also the Acting Chairman of the Fund "In Defence of Prisoners' Rights"*, has noted that the settlement colony "had grossly violated the law" by leaving Nagavkin in the dungeon without a break after the end of his first term there. Mr Bogdan cited examples when the court sided with prisoners in similar cases in the cities of Bratsk and Krasnoyarsk.

Placement into the dungeon is made after a medical examination, Sergey Ivaschenko, a lawyer, has added.

"Nagavkin was prescribed the bed regime by a doctor. That is, he is seriously ill, and he should not have been placed into the dungeon. By doing so, the colony bosses have violated the law," he has concluded.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.