Political prisoner Alexei Gorinov, sentenced to seven years in a penal colony in the case of so-called fakes about the Russian army, has been transferred to a cell with tolerable living conditions in Vladimir’s remand center No. 1. The cell is at a normal temperature and has a toilet, a mattress and a blanket, Novaya Gazeta reports.
The former Moscow municipal deputy is now in the pre-trial detention center awaiting trial in a new criminal case against him for justification of terrorism. According to the investigation, in a conversation with another prisoner, he justified the Ukrainian Azov regiment, which has been declared a terrorist organization in Russia.
On August 21, Gorinov’s associates reported that he was kept in torture conditions in a solitary cell, where it was cold, with no mattress, blanket, hot water or toilet. “There is a mouse living in the cell, with whom Alexei shares cookies,” a post by Gorinov’s support group read. The librarian refuses to issue books to the political prisoner, and the convoy gave him only one attempt to contact his relatives.
After that, dozens of people appealed to the public monitoring commission, writes Novaya Gazeta. Co-founder of the publication, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov called on the head of the International Red Cross Mirjana Spolarich-Egger to intervene in the fate of Alexei Gorinov. There has been no response to the appeal yet.
Nevertheless, the supervisory prosecutor and human rights activists visited Gorinov, listened to the complaints and were convinced of their validity, Novaya Gazeta notes.
“The result – the prisoner was immediately given a blanket and a mattress and transferred to a cell with human conditions, where there is no draft and you can close the window, there is a functioning toilet. And even began to lead to the phone,” – stated in the material of the publication. Still not solved the problem with letters and books and not taken to the shower because of the lack of hot water. “But there is a boiling pot in the cell, heating water and washing in a basin is not prohibited,” — writes Novaya Gazeta.
In July 2022, Aleksey Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in prison under an article on spreading “fakes” about the Russian army. The case relates to the politician’s speech at a municipal council meeting, during which the deputies, at Gorinov’s suggestion, declared a minute of silence in memory of the victims of aggression in Ukraine. Gorinov also noted that all the efforts of civil society in Russia should be aimed at stopping the war. The Memorial Human Rights Center recognized Gorinov as a political prisoner.
Lawyers for Alexei Gorinov, who has a severe chronic lung disease, claimed that his health condition in the colony had significantly deteriorated. Dozens of current and former deputies from Russian regions, as well as representatives of the medical community, have appealed to the authorities to ensure that Gorinov receives the necessary treatment.
