Russian activist sentenced to five days in jail for publicly challenging conditions in prisons
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 9 November 2018 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian activist sentenced to five days in jail for publicly challenging conditions in prisons, 9 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5c34a73b13.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
2018-11-09
Olga Shalina cut veins on her left hand to protest conditions faced by inmates in Russian prisons.
Olga Shalina, an activist of an ultraleftist unregistered political party who publicly challenged conditions in Russian prisons, has been sentenced to five days in jail.
On October 25, Shalina cut her veins on her left hand at the Interpolitekh exhibition of police and military equipment in Moscow to protest conditions faced by inmates in Russian prisons.
Shalina also spread leaflets criticizing the Russian police and penitentiaries for violating the inmates' rights.
Shalina's lawyer, Sergei Badamshin, said that a court in Moscow found his client guilty of minor hooliganism and sentenced her on November 9.
Shalina is a member of The Other Russia party, formed by firebrand Russian writer and politician Eduard Limonov in 2010 after his National Bolshevik Party was outlawed.
The violation of inmates' rights in the Russian penal system is an issue that has been in the spotlight since July when a video showing at least 17 guards beating an inmate in the Yaroslavl region was released on the Internet by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
