Advocate seeks release of disabled man from Novocherkassk SIZO

Investigators and the court refuse to release Pyotr Golovnyov, a 20-year-old disabled man, from the SIZO (pre-trial prison) in Novocherkassk, despite his serious health condition and growing tumour, his advocate has stated, treating the charges against Golovnyov as falsified.

Pyotr Golovnyov has been disabled since birth due to cerebral palsy, his advocate, Evgeny Yurov, has explained. The young man ended up under arrest because of communicating with a stranger in a video chat.

"Allegedly, some girl sent him photos and videos of a sexual nature, while he had allegedly known that she was 13 years old ... She indicated that she had communicated with different guys, sent them photos of intimate content, including Pyotr. At the same time, she describes him as a dark-haired guy with dark eyes, while Pyotr is a blue-eyed blond," Evgeny Yurov has stated.

According to the advocate, investigators took Golovnyov's phone away and opened the correspondence with the above girl, but found no erotic content there. "They found a blocked chat with her, in which she asked him why he had blocked her ... During the correspondence, she told him that she was 13 years old; in response, Pyotr blocked her," the advocate has claimed.

However, investigators charged Golovnyov with violent sexual acts, having found his own intimate photo in the gallery of his phone. "He didn't send her this photo; there are no photos or videos of a sexual nature in their correspondence," the advocate has added. The defence has appealed against Pyotr's arrest, but the court has upheld it.

"His tumour inflames at the SIZO; they give him painkillers, but can't provide his with normal medical care. The condition is very serious and is getting worse every day," Evgeny Yurov insists.

With such a state of his health, Golovnyov should be released from custody, Zhargal Budaev, a lawyer, believes.