Alexander Somryakov, a Krasnodar resident sentenced to six years in a case over so-called “fake news about the army,” called his relatives from IK-9 in Khadyzhensk and said his life was in danger. The support project Politzek-Info reported this.
According to his family, Somryakov was again placed in a punishment cell over a minor issue: broken headphones were found in his possession, which, they say, had previously been handed to him by prison staff. Relatives said that during his calls he was saying goodbye and asked them to bring his daughter so he could see her one last time.
“Someone is threatening him there,” and “he had already been put in the punishment cell several times and then beaten,” his relatives said, recounting his words.
Later, Politzek-Info said the situation in the colony had improved. A source familiar with conditions in IK-9 told Novaya Gazeta Europe that the situation had stabilized. According to the source, Somryakov had been sent to a disciplinary cell several times, and his conflict with the administration is linked, among other things, to the fact that he has not been formally employed and is being forced to work essentially for free.
Somryakov, an electrician from Krasnodar, was convicted in April 2023 under Article 207.3, Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code. According to the court, in April 2022 he posted Instagram materials about events in Mariupol, Bucha, and near Kyiv. In July 2023, the sentence was upheld.
In spring 2024, Somryakov, who was born in Moldova, was stripped of his acquired Russian citizenship. Human rights defenders said he was the first person convicted in an anti-war criminal case to face that measure. After his arrest, his wife left Krasnodar with their daughter.