Member of the Human Rights Council (HRC) Eva Merkacheva in conversation with Info24 told, in what conditions will Elena Blinovskaya, the organizer of “wish marathons”, be kept in the pre-trial detention center. The blogger will be left without her usual comfort, but, for example, she will have access to “beauty suitcases,” the human rights activist noted.
According to Merkacheva, the conditions in the Moscow pre-trial detention center-6 “Pechatniki”, where placed Blinovskaya, quite tolerant. The local administration understands the fact that women need to look beautiful in any situation, says the HRC member. Therefore, on some floors there are “beauty suitcases” with a hairdryer and other things necessary to get yourself in order.
“They can be brought to a woman so that, for example, she can use all this before going to court and look normal,” Merkacheva said.
The pre-trial detention center has a hairdresser and a gym, but they “very rarely take people there,” the human rights activist noted.
Merkacheva rated the food at Pechatniki as “average.” She added that Blinovskaya, like other prisoners, will be able to order food, as well as receive parcels and packages.
Merkacheva suggested, that in the pre-trial detention center they will treat Blinovskaya normally, because “she knows how to communicate with people.” The HRC member explained that the blogger will not be accommodated with criminals and repeat offenders, as this is prohibited by law. Most likely, Blinovskaya will be placed in a large multi-person cell with those who are imprisoned for economic crimes, she believes.
Human rights activists visited Blinovskaya in the pre-trial detention center on January 23 and reported that she was currently being held in a regular quarantine cell for 20 people.
“When we visited, there were several empty places in the cell. After quarantine, she will be transferred to a regular cell. There is a TV, a refrigerator and a kettle,” wrote Member of the Human Rights Council Alexey Melnikov.
He pointed out that Blinovskaya, “like everyone else, has access to daily walks and a library.”
In the same pre-trial detention center-6 are director Evgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, who are accused of justifying terrorism because of the play “Finist Yasny Falcon”. Berkovich wrote that everyone in the detention center was “polite, neat and even gentle” with them, and noted the completely “normal” quality of local food.
- On January 22, the court canceled Blinovskaya’s house arrest “due to repeated violations of the preventive measure” and sent her to a pre-trial detention center until April 26. The investigator, in particular, stated that the blogger, while under arrest, held a social New Year’s party with the participation of a witness in her case, with whom communication is prohibited.
- Blinovskaya is accused of tax evasion (Part 2 of Article 198 of the Criminal Code) and money laundering (Clause “b” of Part 4 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code) – in both cases “on an especially large scale.” We are talking about amounts of more than 918 million rubles and over 43 million rubles, respectively.
- In January 2024, the Investigative Committee reportedthat Blinovskaya has been charged with two new counts of illegal circulation of means of payment (part 2 of article 35, part 1 of article 187 of the Criminal Code). The blogger did not admit guilt.
