The Russian authorities are putting the health and life of Aleksei Gorinov at risk due to his treatment and conditions in detention, including being held in prolonged solitary confinement, not receiving adequate healthcare, and forcing him to clear snow despite being ill. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression and must be released immediately and unconditionally.
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contact information:
*Note: USPS does not currently send mail to Russia
Prosecutor General’s Office
Igor Viktorovich Krasnov
Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation
str. Bolshaya Dmitrovka, 15a, Moscow,
Russian Federation, GSP-3, 125993
Russian Embassy in the United States
Ambassador Anatoly I. Antonov
2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW,
Washington DC 20007
Email: [email protected]
sample letter:
Dear Prosecutor General Igor Victorovich,
I am writing to express concern for Aleksei Gorinov (62), an opposition municipal deputy (councilor) in the Krasnoselsky District of Moscow. He is recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
On March 15, 2022, he spoke at a municipal council’s session calling for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine and stated that children were dying in the conflict every day. He was arrested on April 26, 2022, and charged with “disseminating knowingly false information about Russian Armed Forces,” a newly instituted criminal offense under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code. Aleksei Gorinov was the first person to receive a prison sentence (7 years long) for this new offense. An appeal hearing on September 19, 2023, upheld the conviction but reduced the sentence by one month.
On December 5, 2023, Russian human rights defenders reported that Aleksei Gorinov, who had just been transferred to Penal Colony No. 2 in Pokrov, was ill. He complained of respiratory problems. The lawyer who visited Aleksei Gorinov on December 8, 2023, described the prisoner’s condition as “very bad” and noted that his skin was pale blue, he was exhausted and barely able to sit on the chair. Aleksei Gorinov, who is 62 years old, was transferred to a prison hospital in the city of Vladimir in December 2023, but his health remains in serious condition.
I call on you to take all necessary steps to immediately and unconditionally release Aleksei Gorinov as he is detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and to ensure, in the meantime, that he can enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. I further call on you to take all necessary steps to have Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation repealed, as it violates Russia’s international human rights obligations.
Yours sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
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