Human rights defender Alexey Sokolov has been held in an icy punishment cell since late December

Human rights defender Alexey Sokolov has been continuously placed in a punishment cell since December 30, 2025, Pervy Otdel reports.

Sokolov is being held at Detention Center No. 1 (SIZO-1) in Yekaterinburg. Disciplinary penalties have been imposed on him at least three times in a row: on December 30 for a razor blade allegedly found in his bag (Sokolov said it had been planted), on January 6 for an unfastened bottom button on his prison uniform, and on January 16 for talking to a duty inmate about how to chip ice off the window. Pervy Otdel did not specify whether the human rights defender was returned to a regular cel after the third punishment or whether another punishment was imposed.

The detainee was held in two punishment cells, both of which had extremely low temperatures and high humidity. ‘In the first punishment cell where Sokolov was held, the window does not close, water and condensation accumulate on the walls, and icicles form,’ Pervy Otdel writes. ‘On January 23, 2026, Sokolov was transferred to another punishment cell. The conditions turned out to be similar or worse. The window there also does not close, while the outside temperature is around minus 30 degrees Celsius. High humidity persists in the cell, and icicles form on the walls and ceiling.’

Alexey Sokolov was once again placed in pretrial detention on December 18, 2025 — this time on charges of high treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code) and participation in the activities of an undesirable organization (Part 1, Article 284.1). At the same time in Yekaterinburg, lawyer Roman Kachanov and human rights defender Larisa Zakharova were also detained; they are accused of organizing the activities of an undesirable organization (Part 3, Article 284.1). Presumably, all three are suspected of cooperating with the ‘undesirable’ Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

In addition, Sokolov is being prosecuted in a separate case for the repeated display of the Facebook logo (Part 1, Article 282.4 of the Criminal Code). Under this case, he was held in custody from July 5, 2024, to January 4, 2025.

Alexey Sokolov has spent many years defending the rights of prisoners. He heads the organization Legal Basis and is the author of a documentary film about torture in Russia’s penitentiary system.