 As Caucasian Knot reported earlier that on 2 October 2016 Igor Nagavkin, head of the regional branch of the movement For Human Rights, was remanded in custody for two months on suspicion of theft by the Dzezhinsky district court in Volgograd. Igor Nagavkin was arrested in Volgograd on 1 October. At the time, Lev Ponomarev, the leader of the All-Russian movement For Human Rights, said of Igor Nagavkin: "For many years, he fought for the rights of prisoners and amassed a lot of enemies in the system." Subsequently, Volgograd Regional Court upheld on appeal the decision of the Dzerzhinsky district court to remand Nagavkin in custody, but reduced the period of custody, ruling that it should end on 16 November. At the appeal hearing, Igor Nagavkin announced that he would go on hunger strike starting from 12 October because of his poor health and lack of medical treatment. Igor Nagavkin is accused of stealing jewellery. According to has lawyer, Evgeny Nizhegorodov, Igor Nagavkin pleads not guilty to the charges. Earlier, Caucasian Knot reported on criminal charges brought against Igor Nagavkin in 2011: "He was then suspected of an attempted theft of a tyre of a police car. Igor Nagavkin claimed that the criminal case was instituted after he had organized a campaign against drug dealers in the Volgograd region." Caucasian Knot reports that on 30 October 2011, at a rally in memory of victims of political repression, residents of Volgograd demanded an end to the prosecution of Igor Nagavkin. Igor Nagavkin himself associated the criminal case against him with his human rights activities. Photo: Caucasian Knot Sources: 'FSIN sees no threats to health of Igor Nagavkin arrested in Volgograd,' Caucasian Knot, 20 October 2016 'Activist Igor Nagavkin left in custody in Volgograd,' Caucasian Knot, 19 October 2016 'Leader of "For Human Rights" branch arrested in Volgograd,' Caucasian Knot, 2 October 2016 |
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