Political prisoner Andrei Borovikov spends New Year's days in confinement after prison guards find shower gel in his cell

Borovikov was on the 8th of January returned to his regular prison cell after 10 days in confinement.

The activist and supporter of Aleksey Navalny was transferred to isolation after prison guards discovered shower gel in his cell, supporters of Borovikov inform on social media. The cosmetic was not on the list of his private belongings and consequently reason for additional punishment, the guards argued.

The days of confinement come after Borovikov repeatedly has complained about prison conditions. In the barracks are no access to hot water and there is a stench coming from the dirty prison cellar. In addition, there are cameras over the toilets, the prisoner says.

Borovikov reportedly intends to file a court case against the prison management for the situation.

Andrei Borovikov is the former head of the Navalny office in Arkhangelsk. He has been in jail since April 2021 for sharing a music video by the German rock group Rammstein.

According to prosecutors, Borovikov violated Article 242 in the Russian criminal code (distribution, public display or announcement of pornographic materials with use of mass media) when he in 2014 shared the video.

He got 2,5 years behind bars.

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The former regional coordinator of Aleksei Navalny’s office in Arkhangelsk on January 22 stood trial in the Lomonosovsky District Court in Arkhangelsk. On April 29th, he was taken away by police and will not be seen in public until late 2023.

“Dear friends, whatever will happen to me, that must not affect your spirit of protest,” the former leader of Aleksei Navalny’s regional office in Arkhangelsk said in an address ahead of his arrest.

The prisoner of conscious is behind bars in a prison colony in Arkhangelsk.

In 2021, Andrei Borovikov was one of four aids of Aleksei Navalny that shares the prize money from the Boris Nemtsov Foundation awarded to Aleksei Navalny in February 2021.

In late 2020, human rights organization Amnesty International made clear that the case against Borovikov is politically motivated. 

“Andrey Borovikov is a civil and political activist that protects public interests in various issues [and] his opinion frequently differs with the position of executive powers,” the organization explains.