27 December 2023, 21:28
Human rights defender Igor Nagavkin complains to court about provocation by SIZO administration
During an interrogation of defence witnesses, Igor Nagavkin, accused of disorganizing the operation of a SIZO (pre-trial prison), complained about provocation against him and pressure on witnesses. Prison staff denied the accusations.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 15, at a court hearing in a case against Volgograd human rights defender Igor Nagavkin, prosecution witnesses retracted the testimonies they had given earlier. The judge did not grant the defendant’s request to question the linguist who conducted the examination. On December 4, the victims spoke about the incident during the Igor Nagavkin’s placement in the cell where “pedophiles” were kept. The victims were unable to answer questions about the disorganization of the operation of the SIZO in connection with the incident.
On April 18, in the Volgograd Region, a court found human rights defender Igor Nagavkin guilty of stealing jewellery and sentenced him to six years of imprisonment. On July 18, the Volgograd Regional Court partially granted the Igor Nagavkin’s appeal and reduced his imprisonment term by two months. In October, an advocate of Igor Nagavkin reported that his client was being under investigation for resisting SIZO warders. On November 22, Igor Nagavkin complained about constant threats and pressure from the SIZO administration.
Natalia Shishlina, a sister of Igor Nagavkin, said that he did not complain about health problems. The SIZO administration does not put pressure on him.
“But there are problems with parcels. We used an online order, but it turned out that it was taken into account, and Igor will be allowed to take less parcels from relatives ... And no one warned us about that. They do that on purpose,” noted Natalia Shishlina.
The defendant’s sister also complained that the judge illegally denied Igor Nagavkin’s request for Natalia Shishlina to receive the status of his public defender.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 27, 2023 at 00:38 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Vyacheslav Yaschenko Source: СK correspondent