Russia: jailed anti-war critics being denied family visits - new report

Imprisoned dissidents regularly prevented from seeing family members, with authorities inventing ‘disciplinary’ reasons and instituting sudden transfers 

One of those targeted is jailed Russian-British opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza

‘These tactics are utterly inhuman’ - Natalia Prilutskaya

The Russian authorities are systematically denying arbitrarily-jailed Government critics contact with their families, Amnesty International said in a new report today. 

Amnesty’s 29-page report - “Isolate and Punish: imprisoned dissenters’ deprivation of contact with outside world in Russia” - highlights the systematic and widespread use of isolation and denial of family contact against those imprisoned in Russia for expressing dissent. 

These practices are not isolated incidents, said Amnesty, but are part of a broader, politically-motivated strategy employed by the Russian authorities to stifle free expression and punish those who speak out against the authorities.

A range of tactics is being using by the authorities to arbitrarily deprive prisoners of contact with their families and friends. One method is to routinely deny requests for visits and phone calls while the person is held in pretrial detention, often without providing a reason. In other instances, family members are designated “witnesses” in their loved one’s trial proceedings, precluding them from having contact. In such cases, families might not see their loved ones for months or even years. The authorities have also delayed prisoners’ mail or outright banned correspondence with certain individuals.

Another tactic is the unannounced transfer of prisoners from pretrial detention to penal institutions on the eve of a planned family visit, which is then cancelled. Such transfers require judicial approval by the same court which approves the visit, making this practice even more cynical.

A form of harassment widely used by the penal authorities is arbitrarily placing a prisoner in a disciplinary cell for allegedly committing a minor - often invented - disciplinary violation just before a scheduled family visit. The prisoner is then deprived of visits and phone calls for the duration of the punishment. 

Such practices not only additionally punish the incarcerated dissenters but also inflict severe psychological suffering on their families. The right of detainees to maintain contact with the outside world is enshrined in international human rights standards. Denying contact with families breaches these standards and might amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Some cases may amount to incommunicado detention or enforced disappearance.

Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International’s Russia Researcher, said: 

“These are not isolated practices being used by a few rogue officials. 

“This is a deliberate strategy of the Russian government to isolate and silence dissenters, and inflict further suffering on them and their families. 

“These tactics are utterly inhumane. The authorities not only devastate the lives of those who dared to express dissenting views by imprisoning them, they also rob their loved ones of the few possibilities to keep in touch. 

“This cruel ill-treatment must stop immediately, and all those imprisoned solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly must be released.”

Emblematic cases

Vladimir Kara-Murza - a Russian-British opposition politician arrested in April 2022 and sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment on multiple trumped-up charges - was denied permission to call his wife and children for 14 months. “The most difficult thing [in detention] is separation from your family,” said Kara-Murza in an interview published through his lawyer.

Aleksandra (Sasha) Skochilenko - an artist from Saint Petersburg arrested in April 2022 for her anti-war activism and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment - was isolated for a year from her partner, Sonya, who had been designated a “witness” in the case. “After a year of separation, I am so glad I can see Sasha. I would love to hug her, but it is impossible”, Sonya told Amnesty.

Oleg Orlov - a human rights defender and co-chair of Memorial who was sentenced in February this year to two-and-a-half-years’ imprisonment for an article critical of the Russian authorities - has been cut off from his wife for a prolonged period. His wife was only granted a visit in April but just before she could visit Orlov was transferred from a Moscow remand centre to another region more than 1,000 km away.

Aleksei Gorinov - a Moscow municipal councillor who was detained in April 2022 and sentenced to seven years in prison for criticising Russia’s war in Ukraine during a council meeting - has repeatedly been placed in an isolation cell for minor alleged infractions, including just before a scheduled visit. This has resulted in his family traveling to the penal colony only to be denied their visit.

Amnesty is urging the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release everyone imprisoned solely for exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, expression and association. The authorities must ensure that all detainees and prisoners can maintain regular contact with their families, and penal legislation should be amended to prevent arbitrary denial of contact.