A court in Ulan-Ude fined IK-8 prisoner Sergey Chistyakov 30,000 rubles for "discrediting" the army. As stated in the protocol, in March Chistyakov was in the educational work room with three other inmates. He told them that Russian troops invaded Ukraine with the aim of capturing it. Chistyakov called the Russian military "occupiers" and accused them of abusing Ukrainian civilians.
Chistyakov did not plead guilty and stated in court that he does not watch TV, and also "pointed out the lack of opportunity for joint presence in the educational work room" with the three inmates who testified against him.
However, the court considered that Chistyakov's guilt was proven by the report, protocol, and the questioning of the three inmates. "There is no reason to believe that the said inmates gave the corresponding explanations under pressure, nor are there grounds to believe that they gave such testimonies with the aim of framing Chistyakov S.G., as there were never any conflicts between the inmates," the court ruling notes.
According to "OVD-Info"*, at least 14 defendants in criminal cases have received second cases for "talking with cellmates". The most high-profile accusations were against municipal deputy Alexey Gorinov** and mathematician Azat Miftakhov**.
* Recognized as a "foreign agent" in Russia.
** Included in the list of "terrorists and extremists".