A journalist from Altai, who was sentenced to eight years in prison, has been sent to the pre-trial detention centre punishment cell again.

Sergey Mikhaylov, journalist and publisher of the independent Altai media outlet “Listok,” has once again been sent to the punishment cell of the pre-trial detention centre. This was reported by the Telegram channel “A Word for the Defence.”

Mikhaylov is currently being held in Pre-Trial Detention Centre No. 1 in the village of Kyzyl-Ozyok, on the outskirts of Gorno-Altaysk, a city in southern Siberia. In recent days, he was sent to the punishment cell for three days. The reasons for this measure are unknown. On 1 July, the court is due to consider Mikhaylov’s appeal against his sentence.

This is already the third time Mikhaylov has been sent to the punishment cell. In November 2024, the journalist was sent there for doing breathing exercises 13 minutes later than allowed, after lights-out. Due to these disciplinary actions, there is a risk that Mikhaylov will not be eligible for early release.

In August 2024, Mikhaylov was found guilty of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army motivated by political hatred (Part 2, Article 207.3, section “d” of the Criminal Code). He was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony. He was also banned from working in journalism, publishing, or administering internet resources for four years. The prosecutor had requested a nine-year sentence.

Mikhaylov was detained in spring 2022 in Moscow, then taken to Gorno-Altaysk and placed in pre-trial detention.

The journalist was accused of publishing nine posts in the Listok Telegram channel and an article on the outlet’s website about the killings of civilians in Bucha. The Telegram posts discussed the destruction of a hospital and a theatre in Mariupol, the deaths of women and children, and the involvement of General Mikhail Mizintsev in the described events.

Mikhaylov did not admit guilt. The chief editor of Listok, Viktor Rau, who has left Russia, took responsibility for the posts. “To confirm his words, publications on the outlet’s resources continue to be published daily,” noted Net Freedoms.

In spring 2023, the court refused to consider the case and sent it back to the prosecutor’s office for further work, since the materials did not specify where or how Mikhaylov had published the materials in question. The case was later returned to the same court.