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A court of cassation has upheld the verdict for blogger Sergey Veselov from Shuya, a town in the Ivanovo region, who was convicted over videos and posts. His mother told OVD-Info about this.
The first case against Veselov was opened in March 2022 because of the phrase “No to war” written on the city administration building. After that, several more cases were brought against the blogger due to comments and social media posts, as well as for insulting a judge. In total, Veselov was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony.
The defence insisted that it was not known who had actually posted the content in question; besides, the screenshots of the correspondence showed signs of being doctored. Veselov also said that he was prevented from preparing for hearings in previous courts: he spent 60 days in solitary confinement in a row before the substantive hearings, and 98 days before the appeal. During the appeal, Veselov was not allowed to speak with his lawyer—as a result, he was unable to present his case.
Sergey Veselov’s mother, Tatyana, recently visited her son in the colony and here is what she says about his condition:
Sergey is being held in Penal Colony No. 6 in the Ivanovo region. The colony is in a terrible state—there have been two attempts to close it. There is no money for repairs, but more and more prisoners keep arriving. It’s cold in the barracks in winter, the windows are broken, and the gaps are stuffed with plastic sheeting. Food is served in dirty containers; the main course comes in bags like the ones we use for rubbish. The insanitary conditions are dreadful.
The medical situation is very bad. There are no doctors, only paramedics. I brought him new glasses to replace his broken old ones. They were not accepted. They said a prescription was needed. I brought different tablets for high blood pressure—the ones they give don’t help. Those were not accepted either. They said: only after an examination by a therapist. I said: well then, let your therapist see him. They replied: there is no therapist. I brought a small wrist blood pressure monitor—they didn’t take it. The female paramedic spoke to me like some sort of empress. She said: if he needs his blood pressure checked, let him put it in writing. They require an application for everything.
The prison warden spoke to me kindly, but he doesn’t make any decisions. The medical unit doesn’t answer to him—he said, I’m only responsible for the premises.
Sergey has always been a great reader. Here they’re depriving him of that. He’s already read everything that was available, but he’s not allowed to have anything new. I’ve sent him parcels with books twice—he asked for popular science on physics, mathematics, something by Carnegie, Omar Khayyam. The colony didn’t accept either parcel; they just sat in a warehouse in Ivanovo. Eventually they were about to be disposed of—I intercepted them at the last minute, and was promised they would be returned.
They act like naughty children, doing everything out of spite, on purpose. Why aren’t they interested in letting someone read books?
Sergey asked me for a map of Russia, which I brought. Not allowed. They said: what if they organise an escape using the map of Russia? I might understand if it was a map of the Ivanovo region. But it’s a map of Russia.
Sergey has been sent to solitary a lot. Since it’s hard to cope in prison, he tries to seek justice. But you can’t find justice in places like this. He gets frustrated, demands the guards follow their own rules. He writes complaints—both for himself and for other prisoners. The tension keeps building on both sides. That’s why they put him in solitary: so he won’t cause trouble. He is at breaking point. I understand him. But it just gives them more reasons to punish him.
Recently, we had a long visit. He was happy. We talked a lot, reminisced, discussed what’s happening in the world. We watched television. At first, it didn’t work—we asked for it to be fixed. They fixed it for a day, then it broke again. We asked again. The guard said to me: you’re a real nuisance. Other mothers come and never ask for anything. But me—I ask to bring in medicine, to get the TV repaired.
But Sergey is holding up. He’s a strong person. Although age is catching up with him: he’s already 66, has hypertension, back pain, and his nerves are frayed.
But he is not abandoning his beliefs—he thinks the same as before. He is hoping the war will end as soon as possible. He has sent his friends a letter thanking them for not forgetting him. Getting letters makes him very happy. When he receives letters, he knows his views are shared by others. That gives him the strength to endure.
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