Advocate reports beating up blogger Valov at Sochi colony

Alexander Valov, a former editor-in-chief of the website "BlogSochi", was beaten up in the colony. According to the colony administration, he "has left for treatment," his advocate has informed.

The court has satisfied the demand of the colony bosses to establish supervision over Valov after his release. The judge ordered Valov not to leave Sochi for two years and report to the police twice a month, his advocate, Mikhail Benyash*, has explained. Valov is due to be released on March 31. His violations of the custody regime, which became the basis for the decision to impose supervision, are minor, while colony bosses turn a blind eye to more serious violations by other inmates, Valov has stated.

The characterization given by the colony bosses on Valov states that "the convict failed to take the path of correction"; "he often argues with the colony staff; he is impudent, cunning, stubborn, vindictive and deceitful by nature."

Let us remind you that on January 9, 2020, Valov's advocate said that the blogger had been treated as a malicious violator of the colony rules. In July 2021, Valov complained that he and other convicts were kept in a reinforced concrete bunker without warm clothes; their personal belongings were taken away, and the inmates were placed into the dungeon (punishment cell) for far-fetched reasons.

*Included by the Russian Minister of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.