Oleg Orlov's* relatives are alarmed by his state of health

Oleg Orlov*, a human rights defender, sentenced to 2.5 years in penal colony for his pacifist position, is deprived of hot meals and subjected to gruelling daily trips from the SIZO (pre-trial prison) to the court, says his advocates' complaint.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 27, 2024, Oleg Orlov*, a co-chairman of the "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence**, was found guilty within a criminal case for discrediting the Russian Army. On March 11, his defence filed a complaint against the verdict. Colleagues of the 70-year-old human rights defender have reported that at the SIZO he was offered to go to the special military operation (SMO) zone in Ukraine.

His advocates have filed a complaint about Orlov's* inhumane treatment. In order to get him acquainted with the case materials, every day early in the morning he is taken from the SIZO to the court, where he "pointlessly spends the whole day in the convoy room, because the court staff cannot provide him with work with the materials," the "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence* has reported.

"Oleg Orlov* has a cold; he is deprived of hot meals, rest, and confidential communication with his advocate," says the Centre's website.

"His constant trips to the court, the convoying and custody conditions constitute cruel and degrading treatment and violate Orlov's* rights," the complaints assert.

His defence and relatives are worried about his health condition, since exhausting trips deprive him of rest, meals and walks. The trip to the court itself, which takes several hours, is organized "in a full paddy wagon without heating or normal ventilation." "Other passengers smoke; and Orlov* has to inhale tobacco smoke. Due to constant travels, he caught a cold," his colleagues have noted.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

**As reported on the website of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the reason for including on March 1, 2024, the unregistered "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD) into the roster of foreign agents was the spread of "inaccurate information aimed at creating a negative image of the Russian Federation, as well as the Russian Armed Forces."