The wife of the detained climber in Karachay-Cherkessia complained about the violation of his rights.

Law enforcement officers detained 38-year-old climber Mikhail Semenov in Karachay-Cherkessia on the pretext of failing to report to the colony, his wife complained. Semenov was detained unjustly, as he was undergoing a rehabilitation program at that time, which, according to the law, is a valid reason, the lawyer indicated.

Mikhail Semenov's wife complained about the bias of law enforcement officers

According to the wife of 38-year-old climber Mikhail Semenov, Ekaterina Semenova, her husband was found guilty of illegally crossing the Russian-Abkhaz border through the Eastern Klukhori Pass in April 2024 and was sentenced to one year of imprisonment.

"He is a climber, and 99% of climbers who travel in the Caucasus occasionally cross the border, as it is difficult to monitor it in the mountains," Semenova told the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

According to the climber's wife, he has poor relations with some of the law enforcement officers, as they turn a blind eye to the fact that the reserve management allows people to come to the border Klukhori Pass for a fee. Semenova also complained that before the court hearing on her husband's case, where the sentence was announced, she saw the prosecutor enter the judge's office.

On February 18, 2026, the Karachay District Court sentenced Mikhail Semenov to one year of imprisonment in a settlement colony, while his partner received a suspended sentence. The appeal took place in the same court on April 28, 2026. By that time, considering the two months Semenov spent in pre-trial detention in September-November 2025 and five months under house arrest, he had about six months of punishment left to serve.

"And so we, due to the establishment of my husband's disability (on May 18, he received a confirming certificate from branch No. 75 of the Main Bureau of Medical and Social Expertise in Moscow), submitted a petition to replace the unserved part of the punishment with a milder form of punishment," explained Ekaterina Semenova.

She also mentioned that after the appeal, they were informed that the order to report to the place of serving the sentence was supposed to arrive at the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Moscow Region. However, neither in May nor in June did the document appear. During this time, the case was reviewed by the cassation instance – the Fifth Cassation Court, which on June 23 upheld the sentence, not taking into account the newly discovered circumstances – Mikhail Semenov's disability. "We are currently preparing a complaint to the Supreme Court," his wife noted.

The order requiring him to report to the place of serving the sentence – FKU KP-3 GUFSIN of Russia for the Moscow Region – was received by Mikhail Semenov on July 1, when he was in Karachay-Cherkessia. Before the trip, he specifically clarified with law enforcement agencies whether he had the right to make such a trip before receiving the order. On July 3, he sent a request to the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Moscow Region to postpone the deadline for his self-arrival at the correctional facility to July 19, as from July 1 to July 18, he was undergoing a pre-organized rehabilitation program at the Pyatigorsk clinic of the Federal State Budgetary Institution of the North Caucasus Federal Medical Center of the FMBA of Russia based on a signed contract. As Ekaterina Semenova noted, her husband was told by the Federal Penitentiary Service that he could go to the rehabilitation program.

On July 9, the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Moscow Region declared Mikhail Semenov wanted, and he was arrested in the village of Khurzuk, as he was simultaneously teaching a client climbing skills while undergoing the rehabilitation program. And in the ruling of the same Karachay District Court on July 10, which assigned Semenov 30 days of arrest for transfer to the settlement colony, there was no mention of his request.

"I am sitting at home in Teberda, our friend calls and says that my husband has been taken. I called all the pre-trial detention centers and police stations, but no one told me that he was with them until I went to the Investigative Committee office in Karachay and filed a report about my missing husband. He immediately miraculously appeared at the police station in Karachay," noted Ekaterina Semenova.

According to her, she had difficulty getting a meeting with her husband; Mikhail Semenov's lawyer Mariam Tedeeva is allowed to see her client once a week.

Ekaterina Semenova also complained that her husband is under psychological pressure. According to her, he was threatened during his previous stay in pre-trial detention. "Now there are threats to put him in a punishment cell, make him clean toilets, and make him 'degraded'," she stated.

The lawyer pointed out the violation of Semenov's rights

Mikhail Semenov's rights were violated by his arrest, noted the lawyer. "Article 75.1 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation states that failure to arrive at the place of serving a sentence in a settlement colony after receiving an order from the territorial body of the criminal executive system entails negative consequences only in the case of evasion or absence of valid reasons," he explained to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

Semenov has a statement indicating a valid reason. And paragraph 4 of the order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated April 6, 2009, No. 102 "On the approval of the Instruction for sending convicted persons to a settlement colony, in respect of whom the court has made a decision," states that in the event of unforeseen circumstances that hinder the departure or arrival of the convicted person within the established time, the term established for the arrival of the convicted person at the place of serving the sentence may be extended by a reasoned decision of the head of the territorial body of the Federal Penitentiary Service, the lawyer explained.

Regarding visits, the lawyer indicated that according to Article 18 of the Federal Law "On the detention of suspects and accused of committing crimes," relatives have the right to two visits per month with the written permission of the person or body conducting the criminal case.

Regarding the fact that law enforcement officers did not inform Semenova of her husband's whereabouts after his detention, the lawyer emphasized that such actions are illegal. "If a person is detained, then within three hours after the detention, he has the right to make a phone call to relatives or a lawyer. The essence of such 'disappearances' is that while a person is isolated, all necessary explanations or testimonies can be taken from him, which unscrupulous police officers take advantage of," the lawyer explained.

If Semenov is under psychological pressure, he can request a medical examination. "A doctor can document signs of stress, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. These phenomena are indirect markers of psychological pressure," he said.

The lawyer also recommended that in cases of psychological pressure, written complaints should be submitted to the management of the pre-trial detention center, the prosecutor's office, and the Federal Penitentiary Service.