After leaving colony, court forbids blogger Alexander Valov to leave Sochi

The Angarsk City Court has satisfied the demand of the colony staff to establish supervision over Alexander Valov, a former editor-in-chief of the "BlogSochi" website, after his regaining freedom. The judge ordered Valov not to leave Sochi and report to the police twice a month, Mikhail Benyash*, an advocate, has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 26, 2018, the court found Valov guilty of extorting money from State Duma MP, Yuri Napso, and sentenced him to six years in prison and a fine of 700,000 roubles. In August 2019, a Krasnodar court refused to review the verdict.

Now, the judge has appointed Valov two years of supervision with a ban on leaving Sochi and ordered him to report to the police station twice a month. The blogger is due to be released on March 31.

Let us remind you that on December 17, 2019, Mikhail Benyash* said that Valov was placed into the colony dungeon (punishment cell); the decision was motivated not by a violation of the order, but by "operative necessity." On January 9, 2020, the advocate said that the blogger was announced to be a persistent violator of the colony rules. In July 2021, Valov complained that he and other convicts were kept in a bunker without warm clothes; their personal belongings were taken away, and they were placed into the dungeon on far-fetched reasons.