Former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district of Moscow, Alexey Gorinov, the heating was turned off and he was not given a blanket in his cell in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Vladimir. This is reported by his support group.
The heating in Gorinov’s cell was turned off, allegedly because of an accident in this part of the pre-trial detention center, and the detention center staff gave the man a thin duvet cover instead of a blanket. The former deputy is forced to wear thermal underwear all the time. In addition, letters are not issued to politicians.
“Apparently, the administration of pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Vladimir understood the meaning of changing the conditions of detention to strict, or it seemed to them that adding a term to a political prisoner was not enough and he should be tortured further,” the activists noted.
Gorinov was transferred to pre-trial detention center-1 in Vladimir in April. On the eve of the transfer, the politician was transferred to strict conditions of detention - the administration of the colony recognized him as a severe violator of the order. He was given a bed on the second tier with “holes in the armor mesh and a scanty mattress,” and the ex-Mundo’s ability to walk and make phone calls was limited and the number of short and long visits was reduced.
In July 2022, Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in a general regime colony under the article on disseminating “fake news” about the Russian army using his position and motivated by hatred or enmity (clauses “a”, “b” and “e”, part 2 of Art. 207.3 CC). Later, on appeal, the period was reduced by one month. The case was opened due to the fact that the oppositionist, at a meeting of the Council of Deputies on March 15, 2022, called the events in Ukraine a war, and not a “special operation.” He also said that the Russian government wants to seize the territory of this country and that children are dying in Ukraine from the actions of the Russian army. Together with Gorinov, his former colleague from the municipality, Elena Kotenochkina, is involved in the case. She left Russia.
In September 2023, a new criminal case was opened against Gorinov for public justification of terrorism (Part 1 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) due to conversations with other prisoners about the attack on the Crimean Bridge and about the Azov regiment in the hospital at the colony. In November he was sentenced to three years in prison. According to investigators, the man spoke about the explosion on the Crimean Bridge as follows: “Well, they blew it up. The war is on. Because Crimea is their territory.” The ex-deputy himself explained the phrase this way: “this is not news: during war they blow up and kill.” In addition to this, the indictment includes phrases about the actions of the Azov battalion and the Kraken GUR unit. The indictment includes the following phrase, said in a conversation about “Azov”: “What kind of evil spirits is this? This is the Armed Forces." The prosecution interpreted this as a disagreement on the issue of “the inadmissibility of their [Azov’s] actions.” Gorinov’s defender noted that the prisoner did not justify or evaluate the actions of the military, and the Russian media “themselves equate Azov with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
According to journalist Dmitry Muratov, other prisoners were specially placed next to the prisoner, who tried to provoke him into conversation and record what they heard on a hidden microphone. Four of Gorinov’s neighbors, conversations with whom formed the basis of the criminal case, became witnesses for the prosecution, and linguistic expertise presented at the trial also confirmed the fact of provocations.
Gorinov’s defender especially noted that “out of a 14-hour audio recording, only 14 words could be imputed to Gorinov.”
In November, shortly before the start of hearings on the second criminal case, Gorinov fell ill with bronchitis in the colony. Gorinov’s health began to deteriorate after he was constantly placed in a punishment cell in the colony. So, last December, lawyers reported a significant deterioration in his health in the Pokrovsk colony. The politician had symptoms of bronchitis, chills, fever and cough. During his illness he was forced to clear snow. According to the lawyer, during the meeting Gorinov practically did not have the strength to sit on a chair and speak. He was later sent to the prison hospital in serious condition, with a temperature of 40 degrees.
You can write a letter to a prisoner:
Gorinov Alexey Alexandrovich born in 1961
Pre-trial detention center-1 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Vladimir region
st. 9 January, 5 A, Vladimir, Vladimir region, 600021
- On February 14, 2023, the UN called for the immediate release of Gorinov and demanded that the Russian authorities conduct an independent investigation, as well as take action against the people responsible for the illegal prosecution and imprisonment of the former MP.
- Since February 24, 2022—the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been holding anti-war protests every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 1,100 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .