A Kaliningrad resident who was convicted to seven years and six months in prison for spreading “falsehoods” about the Russian army, was denied permission to attend his own mother’s funeral, lawyer Maria Bontsler told the region’s Novy Kaliningrad newspaper.
Igor Baryshnikov appealed to the court to allow him to take an escorted furlough to travel to the town of Sovetsk for the funeral, which was due to take place on 9 August. No reason for the court’s ruling was given.
Bontsler added that Baryshnikov, who suffers from chronic illness, is currently in a prison hospital ward. The activist was promised he would be taken to the central regional hospital for medical tests later in August, after which the authorities would decide whether he was fit to serve his prison sentence. Earlier, Baryshnikov’s chronic illness flared up and he started showing possible cancer symptoms.