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The Moscow City Court has upheld the pre-trial detention of political scientist Aleksandr Kynev, who is facing drug charges. His defence asked for a non-custodial measure, citing, among other things, the state of his health. This was reported by Mediazona from the courtroom.
At the hearing, Kynev explained that because of injuries sustained during his arrest, he is almost unable to walk. To reach the room for his video court appearance, he had to climb several flights of stairs and move across a cold floor, while his leg is in a cast. Kynev’s lawyer described keeping the political scientist in the detention centre as “inhumane” and said that without medical assistance, he could be left disabled.
Kynev was detained on 25 September with the involvement of FSB officers. The Perovo District Court in Moscow remanded him into custody at a detention centre until 24 November on charges of attempted large-scale drug dealing (subparagraph “g,” part 4, article 228.1 of the Criminal Code). The political scientist denies any wrongdoing. After his arrest, he was diagnosed with two fractures of the shin bone; a source from the “Slovo Zashchite” project in the FSIN medical unit claimed the injuries were the result of torture.
In October, Kynev was transferred from the Matrosskaya Tishina prison hospital to SIZO-4 “Medved.” In a letter from there, he wrote that he was still in a cast and unable to walk, as he did not have crutches. SIZO-4 has repeatedly faced criticism over detention conditions: human rights defenders have reported beatings and extortion, overcrowded cells, and poor medical care. During the investigation into the military “fake news” case, politician Ilya Yashin was also held there.