Alexei Gorinov

Deputy of the Krasnoselsky Municipal District in Moscow.

He was detained on 26 April 2022 after a search. The following day, the court ordered his placement in custody under a criminal case on the dissemination of knowingly false information about the Armed Forces, following his statement at a meeting of the municipal council that it was inappropriate to hold a children’s drawing competition while children were dying in the war. On 5 May, the court limited Gorinov’s period for familiarisation with the case materials to 6 May, although he had only begun to review the case on 4 May, and spent more than half of 5 May in court. The Moscow Helsinki Group reported that he was held in torturous conditions in the pre-trial detention centre: the cell in which he was placed held seven people, although it was designed for four, and during his detention he had to sleep on a concrete floor.

On 8 July, Gorinov was sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.

In September, it became known that the hearing of the appeal against the verdict would be held behind closed doors. Later, the presiding judge stated that such a decision was made for security reasons, as threats had previously been received against the judge of the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow who had delivered the original verdict.

On 19 September, the appellate court reduced Gorinov’s sentence by one month.

In December, it became known that Gorinov was not receiving medical assistance in the colony. After the situation became public, he was transferred to the hospital at a neighbouring penal colony.

On 29 June 2023, Gorinov wrote in a letter that he was being woken every two hours during the night — this was how the administration checked whether he had escaped.

In October 2023, Gorinov was placed in a pre-trial detention centre after it became known that a new criminal case had been initiated against him for publicly justifying terrorism, based on a conversation with other prisoners in the hospital. In the detention centre, he was regularly subjected to searches, and his letters were not delivered to him.

Later, he was returned to the penal colony. He reported that he was being forced to clear snow despite having a high temperature. In December 2023, a lawyer who visited Gorinov in the colony stated that he was in very poor condition, had almost no strength to sit or speak, was suffering from bronchitis in an active stage, had a fever and constant chills, and was experiencing difficulty breathing, while his medicines had been confiscated and not returned, and the doctor was merely taking his temperature and leaving.

In March 2024, in a letter from Gorinov, it became known that he was again being deprived of sleep in the colony, as he was classified as prone to escape. Subsequently, he was also registered as prone to suicide.

On 29 November 2024, in the case of public justification of terrorism, Gorinov was sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment in a strict-regime penal colony. The day before, he had been placed on record as prone to terrorist activity.

In December 2024, it became known that the heating in Gorinov’s cell had been turned off and he had not been provided with a blanket. Shortly after this information became public, the heating was turned back on.

You can read more about politically persecuted people in the Telegram channel OVD-Info LIVE and our politically motivated criminal prosecutions in Russia database