Jailed Kremlin critic Andrei Pivovarov has been moved to a notorious penal colony where inmates have accused prison officials of torture, independent media reported Monday, after his associates raised concerns about his unknown whereabouts.
Pivovarov’s associate, Tatiana Usmanova, told the Novaya Gazeta Europe news site that he was inside penal colony No. 7 in the republic of Karelia in northwestern Russia, for almost a month.
Prison guards placed Pivovarov in a cell-like facility until April 30, immediately after his January 24 arrival, the outlet said.
“First they hid Andrei from everyone for 30 days and without telling his relatives where he is,” Usmanova told Novaya Gazeta. “Then they sent him to this establishment where calls and visits are prohibited.”
Pivovarov, 41, was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2022 for “undesirable” activities.
He denies the charges against him.
A court in southern Russia upheld the verdict in November 2022.
Russian security services arrested Pivovarov in May 2021 after removing him from a flight to Warsaw as part of a nationwide crackdown on opposition activists.
Pivovarov headed the Open Russia organization of exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkosky.
Authorities labeled Open Russia “undesirable” in 2017, a designation that subjects anyone working with it to criminal prosecution.
Members of the pro-democracy movement continued to operate as a separate legal entity until May 2021 when it disbanded to protect its staff from prosecution.
Penal Colony No. 7 gained notoriety after a number of its high profile inmates accused its chief guardian of abuse, slave labor, extortion and the creation of a system of violence.
The chief executive was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in 2019 for abuse of power.
Russia news
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