Convicted trade union activist was given the status of “malicious violator” for defending his rights

Trade union activist Konstantin Zavalin, who was sentenced to forced labor under the article on the use of violence against a representative of the authorities (Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code), was assigned the status of a “malicious offender” in the correctional center at IK-6 of the Astrakhan region. The Caucasian Knot is about this.

reports The reason for assigning the status was three penalties: two for refusal to work without special clothing, another for the fact that “during a sound sleep I did not hear” the arrival of the center controller and did not get up to greet him.

As part of forced labor, Zavalin was given a job as a janitor on Komsomolskaya Embankment. He said that he asked management for boots and waterproof gloves to work in heavy rain, but was refused. As a result, the man got wet, cold and fell ill with bronchitis.

“The sneakers immediately got wet, the gloves got wet. I froze while working, and then came to the cold and damp premises of the correctional center. Because of this, I caught bronchitis, I have been on official sick leave since November 22, and on December 2 I go to the doctor, they should discharge me. But I’m not well yet: I have a cough and I don’t feel well. I go home for treatment, but I can only stay there until 15:00,” Zavalin told the Caucasian Knot.

He emphasized that due to his status as a “malicious offender”, the management of the correctional center can assign him a “over-treatment” and achieve a transfer to a colony-settlement - for this, the administration needs to go to court. “I told them I’m not afraid of it. There are only three months left to serve his sentence. I don’t care, but it’s unnecessary red tape for them,” the activist noted.

The reason for the criminal prosecution was the events that occurred during Zavalin’s arrest on March 2. Then the security forces came to him because of the picket on January 9 against the entry of troops into Kazakhstan - on the day of the action, the man was also released, but they were released without a protocol. After being brought to the department, a report was drawn up against the activist regarding disobedience to the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code), according to which the court arrested him for 10 days.

detained According to the "Caucasian Knot", the police used "special means" when detaining Zavalin. The activist filed a statement about the illegal actions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, after which a criminal case was opened against him.

Zavalin did not admit guilt. Two witnesses at the trial also took the position of an activist, reporting that the district police officer Bayramov, whom he allegedly hit, stood aside during the arrest.

On June 24, the Kirovsky District Court of Astrakhan sentenced Zavalin to one and a half years of forced labor. The prosecutor's office appealed the verdict, but on August 25 the regional court upheld it.

sentenced and left - In October, Zavalin was sent to a punishment cell at the correctional center. Then he complained about pressure from the administration because of his disagreement with the way the labor contract for forced labor was drawn up. On October 5, the man went on a hunger strike. As Caucasian Knot reports, he held her for seven days. sent - Like the “Caucasian Knot”, the trade union activist had previously been pressured. In October 2019, Konstantin Zavalin was fired from a gas processing plant after he reported violations that, according to him, could lead to a man-made disaster. tells