Switch Language

Until the decision comes into force, left-wing activist Ekaterina Fatyanova will be held in Norilsk SIZO-4, reports the human rights project For Human Rights.

Previously, the activist had reported being subjected to pressure at Correctional Centre No. 15 in Norilsk, where she was supposed to serve a two-year sentence of forced labour.

Fatyanova had been there since May. She was assigned to work as a cleaner for a cleaning company. In the summer, other inmates began threatening the activist. One of them threatened her with sexual assault.

In the autumn, the activist was designated a persistent violator. Before that, she had received three reprimands. Human rights defenders believe this was retaliation from the administration because Fatyanova had exposed a serious violation at the correctional centre.

In October, the activist was hospitalised with a hypertensive crisis and kidney inflammation. Human rights advocates stated that her health had deteriorated due to the strenuous physical work and “the unbearable moral climate that was created for her in the correctional centre.”

After returning from hospital, Fatyanova was placed in a disciplinary cell because of an old reprimand for being late. As a protest, the activist declared a hunger strike.

In the summer, Krasnoyarsk-based human rights defender Olga Suvorova launched a petition demanding the closure of the women’s correctional centre in Norilsk. According to her, among those held there were pregnant women and those who had suffered a stroke. Suvorova described the conditions in the facility as akin to hard labour:

“Six months of polar night, an ecological disaster due to emissions from Norilsk Nickel’s factories, temperatures down to -62°C, and blackout blizzards—these are hard-labour conditions for people unaccustomed to the Arctic climate. Women were given just a few night-time hours to pack and tickets with no baggage allowance.”

  • In December 2024, Fatyanova was convicted on charges of discrediting the army (part 1, article 280.3 of the Russian Criminal Code). The case was initiated due to distributing the “Worker-Peasant SICKLE and HAMMER” newspaper on 9 May 2023 in the centre of Krasnoyarsk, a major city in Siberia. Security officers decided that the article “Reflections on the Nature of Imperialism” discredited the Russian army.
  • In 2022, Fatyanova was fined under an administrative article on discrediting the army (part 1, article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences) for putting up anti-war leaflets.