Search
The Novosibirsk Regional Court has fully rejected the lawsuit filed by Ilya Baburin, who is serving a 25-year sentence, against Novosibirsk Remand Prison No. 1 for violation of his rights. This was reported by “Solidarity Zone.”
In January 2023, Baburin was placed in a “psycho-isolator”—a special cell with rubber walls for detainees prone to self-harm—in the remand prison without any explanation. Before this, the young man was completely stripped: in the “psycho-isolator” he was kept naked under video surveillance. Baburin was not allowed to use the toilet, and in protest he smashed a surveillance camera. After this, he was moved to “another room of unknown purpose.” There, “he stayed naked for two days, and only then was returned to a regular cell.”
In April last year, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of Novosibirsk—a major city in Siberia—considered Baburin’s lawsuit against the remand prison. He challenged not only the placement in the “psycho-isolator,” but also 14 reprimands, three placements in a punishment cell, not being provided with bed linen, delays in the delivery of magazines, and the refusal of the remand prison director to notarise a power of attorney. He was denied on all counts except for the placement in the “psycho-isolator.” Later, a higher court sent the lawsuit back to the lower court for a new review on appeal.
In November that year, upon reconsideration, the judge partially satisfied the lawsuit: the decision to place Baburin in the “psycho-isolator” was ruled unlawful. The court also found unlawful the refusal of the remand prison director to notarise a power of attorney, which would have allowed lawyer Vasily Dubkov to represent Baburin in civil, administrative and enforcement proceedings. Previously, the director had refused to sign the document, claiming it was outside his remit.
The judge awarded compensation for violation of Baburin’s basic rights in the amount of 1,200 roubles (about US$13). The court rejected all other claims.
In May 2024, Ilya Baburin was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment. He must spend the first five years in a prison, with the remainder to be served in a strict-regime penal colony. Prosecutors had asked for 26 years. He was also fined 100,000 roubles (about US$1,100). In October, the verdict was upheld by a higher court. At the time of sentencing, Baburin was 24 years old.
The case became public at the end of September 2022, although the accused’s name was not then known. In March 2023, it was revealed to be Baburin. Initially, he was charged with attempted organisation of a terrorist act (Part 4, Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code with reference to Part 3, Article 30). According to the investigation, Baburin allegedly intended to set fire to a military recruitment office. Under pressure, he agreed to cooperate with the investigation, but later withdrew his testimony.
Later, he was additionally charged with state treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code)—he was accused of organising the arson to help “Azov.” Then the investigation decided that he himself was a member of “Azov,” and added charges of participation in a terrorist organisation (Part 2, Article 205.5) and in an illegal armed formation (Part 2, Article 208).
A year after his arrest, Baburin was accused of setting fire to a music school (Part 1, Article 205), an accusation he categorically denies, as well as illegal possession of technical equipment (Article 138.1) because a GPS tracker was found during a search. The court refused to grant the defence’s request for an independent examination, which could have proven the defendant had not recorded video of the music school fire on his phone.
You can support the detainee by sending a letter through the services “Zonatelekom” and “F-letter”:
630010, Novosibirsk, ul. Karavaeva, d. 1, SIZO-1,
Baburin Ilya Nikolaevich, born 1999