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Political prisoner Darya Polyudova has been drinking only water since 21 October as a protest against pressure in the penal colony, reported ‘Otkrytoye Prostranstvo’ (Open Space).

Polyudova is serving her sentence in IK-8, in Kostroma, a city northeast of Moscow. She already has six verbal reprimands and a disciplinary penalty. The activist believes that she is under threat of being sent to a punishment cell (SHIZO), and then placed under strict detention conditions. Darya has also reported that her belongings are being stolen and she is being prevented from contacting her lawyer.

In May, the activist complained of harassment:

‘I feel lonely in my unit. There is bullying. They are even offended that I smile, dyed my hair, and put on golden-blue eye shadow. All this bullying is because of my political views,’ she wrote. In August, another prisoner attacked Polyudova and tried to strangle her.

The activist had previously reported being beaten by cellmates over her criticism of Putin and pressure from the administration. In 2023, she went on hunger strike after being placed in a punishment cell (SHIZO) following the planting of a razor blade. After the hunger strike, she was transferred to strict detention conditions and subsequently did not contact her loved ones for nearly six months.

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  • In 2015, Polyudova became the first person in Russia to be convicted for calls for separatism: she was sentenced to two years in a settlement colony for announcing a ‘March for the Federalisation of Kuban.’
  • In 2017, the activist was released and founded ‘Left Resistance’ in Moscow.
  • In 2020, she was arrested, accused of separatism (for a placard reading ‘Kurils! Stop feeding Moscow! ’) and justifying terrorism (for reposting a message about Shamil Basayev). The first charge was dropped, but later she faced charges of inciting extremism (for a video about a shooting near the FSB building on Lubyanka) and creating an extremist community.
  • In 2022, she was sentenced to nine years in a general regime colony.