Russian invaders add another 4½ years to political prisoner's sentence

Alona Mazurenko — Friday, 10 November 2023, 20:46

OLEH PRYKHODKO, RADIO SVOBODA (LIBERTY)

Crimean political prisoner Oleh Prykhodko has been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison by a Russian court.

Source: Suspilne.Krym, citing Nataliia Shvetsova, Prykhodko’s daughter

Quote: "He was harassed for four hours, he’d been there since 6:00. They artificially created communication problems for him. That is, they constantly interfered, constantly ran in and prevented him from communicating with his lawyer. And he’s also deaf, you know. Anyway, the trial took place and he was sentenced in one go: they added charges... He was sentenced to four and a half years of strict detention in one go."

Details: The court hearing was held on 8 November. Prykhodko connected to it from the Vladimir Central prison via video link.

The occupiers tacked on another sentence for the political prisoner for Justifying Terrorism (Article 354.1 of the Russian Criminal Code) and Public Calls for Aggressive War (Article 205.2).

Shvetsova said that her 65-year-old father is not a reserved person, and this was also taken into account and used against him.

She said her father would not get out of prison alive, and he realises this. Prykhodko is also regularly put in solitary confinement.

In addition, her father is not provided with any medical care, medicines are not handed over, and a parcel was taken away. When he put in a written complaint, he was sent to solitary confinement again. The prison staff also take half of any money sent to him.

The political prisoner’s family want to visit him, but while Prykhodko is being held in solitary confinement, it is impossible to see him.

Background:

In July, Liudmila Denisova, Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Russian ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova to confirm Prykhodko's whereabouts.
On 3 March 2021, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don illegally sentenced Oleh Prykhodko to five years in a strict regime colony and a fine of 110,000 roubles (about US$1,200) for allegedly "illegally manufacturing explosives, attempting to commit an act of terrorism, and preparing to set fire to the Russian Consulate General in Lviv in the summer of 2019".

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