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Alexander Martynov, a resident of Tver region who is serving his sentence in Penal Colony No. 8 in Yaroslavl, has been held in a punishment cell since 6 November. This was reported by his OVD-Info lawyer, Maria Varaeva.

Before this, he was in the strict-regime unit. According to his defence lawyer, the administration of Penal Colony 8 transferred all prisoners who were on strict regime to the punishment cell.

Most recently, Martynov’s time in the punishment cell was extended because of a photo showing him with his hands not placed behind his back. The prison staff claimed he was outside his cell at the time, but, according to his lawyer, he was actually inside the cell.

It is unclear when Martynov will be released from the punishment cell. The prison staff said he would spend the entire New Year holiday period there.

“He is in the cell with six other prisoners. He says the food has got worse. Mostly potatoes and cabbage,” the lawyer said.

In September, Martynov was placed in the punishment cell for the first time because he did not go to breakfast. His support group noted that he has almost no teeth left while in custody. According to his lawyer, Martynov has still not received medical assistance.

On 1 October, he was transferred from the punishment cell to strict regime. At that time, Martynov wrote in a letter:

“It is hard to put into words how I feel about where I am now—I cannot find the right words. But the main thing is that it’s very difficult with letters. The feeling of loneliness and not belonging to the reality (or unreality) around me doesn’t go away. But Good will still win over Evil.”

You can support Alexander Martynov by sending him a letter through our 'Vestočka' service.

  • Martynov, aged 67, has been in custody for almost four years. In 2022, he and artist Liudmila Razumova, who was his wife at the time, were detained for anti-war slogans and drawings left in several villages in Tver region, a region northwest of Moscow. Martynov also posted anti-war messages online. In 2023, he was sentenced to six and a half years in a general-regime colony, and Razumova to seven years in a colony. They were convicted under articles on military “fakes” (subparagraph “d,” part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) and vandalism (part 2, article 214 of the Criminal Code).