Belarus transfers convicted Russian to higher security prison

June 15, BPN. A judge in Babrujsk, Mahiloŭ region, has ordered 21-year-old Russian citizen Yegor Dudnikov transferred to a prison from a strict-regime penal colony for the next three years.

The decision was made by judge Pavieł Karcinin on June 15, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Prisoners are not taken to work, in contrast to penal colony inmates. They are kept in closed cells throughout the day and taken out for a walk in the yard for one hour. The administration treats them as persistent violators.

On December 27, 2021 the Minsk City Court (judge Siarhiej Chrypač) sentenced Dudnikov to 11 years for calls to action aimed at harming Belarus’ national security and for incitement of social enmity. The trial was held behind closed doors.

In February, Supreme Court Judge Ihar Lubavicki upheld his sentence.

Dudnikov was arrested in Minsk on May 4, 2021. He was held at a detention center for seven months.

Human rights groups consider him to be a political prisoner.