Maxim Ovchinnikov's mother is worried about his condition in the pre-trial detention center.
The arrest of Anapa resident Maxim Ovchinnikov, accused of treason, has been extended until October 8. After a meeting with his son in the Krasnodar pre-trial detention center, Margarita Ovchinnikova managed to arrange a meeting with the deputy head of the facility.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", 45-year-old Anapa resident Maxim Ovchinnikov, who worked as a lift equipment electrician, was detained by FSB officers on January 27. After his detention, he underwent a series of administrative arrests. In February, Ovchinnikov's mother complained that she had been unable to determine her son's whereabouts since February. On April 17, she appealed to the director of the FSB of Russia, Alexander Bortnikov, demanding to know where her son was. Only at the end of May did it become known that he was held in SIZO-1 in Krasnodar. On July 4, the FSB reported the detention of an Anapa resident who, according to the security forces, was gathering information on behalf of Ukrainian special services; a familiar identified Ovchinnikov in the released operational video.
Maxim's mother, Margarita Ovchinnikova, went to SIZO No. 1 in Krasnodar on July 23 to meet with the deputy head of the facility. According to her, the reason for the meeting was her son's poor condition and the conditions of his detention, which she learned about during their meeting. She spoke with a correspondent from “Caucasian Knot” before her trip.
Ovchinnikova was able to see her son earlier in July. The woman recalled that she received information about her son's whereabouts, accused of treason, not from FSB director Bortnikov, to whom she had appealed, but from human rights activists.
“As soon as I found out where my son was, I requested a meeting with him. I was allowed to meet with him. I arrived at SIZO No. 1 in Krasnodar. I found my son in terrible physical and depressed condition. It was practically impossible to communicate. The meeting took place under the supervision of SIZO staff. It was awful. Maxim could not say anything in their presence. But from his appearance, I understood that everything was bad,” she emphasized.
Seeing her son's condition and realizing that he was frightened, the woman decided to talk to the SIZO management about the conditions of his detention and treatment. “From Maxim, I learned that his arrest has been extended until October 8, 2026. I fear that he will not survive until October 8 in such conditions, especially since he has never been in prison,” Margarita told the correspondent of “Caucasian Knot.”
Ovchinnikov does not have a lawyer under agreement, as his mother cannot afford to pay for a defender from her pension. “I am a pensioner, over 60 years old. After the stress and worries for my son, his life and health, I myself need moral, material, psychological, and financial help, which I am in dire need of. My strength is running out, we have no money for a lawyer. Moreover, I am ill after the stress, my condition is worsening. I am the only one who has contact with Maxim, but it is even hard for me to speak due to illness. To get from the city where I live to Krasnodar, I need four hours, and four hours back. This is a great ordeal for me. I don’t know if I can endure such a journey, but there is no one else to take care of Maxim,” she concluded.
Margarita Ovchinnikova has not yet reported on the results of her trip to Krasnodar to meet with the deputy head of the SIZO. Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office of the Krasnodar Territory published a message on July 23 about the transfer to court of the case of a 46-year-old Anapa resident accused of treason allegedly for passing data on the level of cellular signals in the city to Ukrainian special services. The name of the accused was not disclosed by the agency, but his age and place of residence approximately match Ovchinnikov's data, and the only episode described in the message relates to the days before his detention - January 21-23.