Russian political prisoner Gorinov denied heating in his cell after new sentence

Photo: Alexandra Astakhova

Central heating has been disabled in the cell of former Moscow municipal deputy Alexei Gorinov, according to the political prisoner's support group on Telegram. “Right after the verdict, on Friday, Alexei's heating was cut off, allegedly due to some kind of accident that affected his cell block at the pre-trial detention center. The heating was turned on briefly over the weekend, but at the time of Alexei's lawyer's visit (Dec. 3), it was off again. In addition, Alexei has not been issued a warm blanket — only a thin blanket slip,” the message stated.

Gorinov has also been denied access to correspondence. Since his initial detention in April 2022, not a single letter has been handed to him — this despite prison administration representatives admitting that letters addressed to Gorinov have arrived in packs. “Apparently, this was how the administration of SIZO 1 in Vladimir understood 'high-security' — or they may have thought that extending the time of imprisonment is not harsh enough and that the political prisoner should be additionally tortured,” the Telegram support group wrote.

On Nov. 29, the 2nd Western District Military Court in Vladimir handed down a second sentence to Gorinov. The former municipal deputy was given three years in a high-security penal colony after being found guilty of “justification of terrorism.” In total, Gorinov, 63, who was serving his previous sentence in a general-security prison, will spend another five years in a high-security facility.

According to the investigation, during conversations with fellow inmates, Gorinov rationalized Ukraine’s October 2022 bombing of the Crimean Bridge and expressed similar sentiments regarding Ukraine's Azov Battalion and the Kraken intelligence unit, both of which are designated in Russia as terrorist organizations. Gorinov said he had been provoked into discussing politics.

Gorinov was first sentenced in July 2023, when he received seven years in prison on charges of “spreading army fakes” — specifically, he had called Putin's “special operation” in Ukraine a “war” and had also talked about the deaths of Ukrainian civilians. Gorinov, who suffers from multiple health conditions, has repeatedly complained about the inhumane conditions of his incarceration and the lack of medical care.