Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza reportedly transferred to harshest prison punishment cell

Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza has been transferred to a single cell-type room (EPKT) in prison colony No. 7 in Omsk, Russia, reports Novaya Gazeta. Communicating through his lawyer, Kara-Murza said that he had been sent to the EPKT for four months. An EPKT is a prison within a prison and amounts to the harshest punishment prison officials can give.

Kara-Murza, who was previously in a different prison colony in Omsk, said that on January 26, he was summoned, without any prior notice, to a “commission” because of a “malicious violation.” According to Kara-Murza, the commission accused him of refusing to stand at the command to “rise,” which he says wasn’t even given to him.

Vladimir Kara-Murza is serving a 25-year prison sentence for charges related to his statements opposing the war in Ukraine.