Nagavkin was sent to the punishment cell less than two months before the end of his sentence.
In the Kamyshin colony, human rights defender Igor Nagavkin was placed in a punishment cell for 15 days. In October, Nagavkin's sentence for theft expires.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", human rights defender Igor Nagavkin, serving a two-year sentence in a general regime colony in the city of Kamyshin, informed his relatives in a letter that since May 4, 2026, he had been placed in a punishment cell for 15 days. He did not specify the reason for the punishment in the letter. He also informed his relatives that he was given medication in the punishment cell. It was also reported that in mid-May, the Kalach District Court in the Volgograd region refused to satisfy the lawsuit of human rights defender Igor Nagavkin, who claimed fraudulent actions by the victim in the case of the theft of jewelry. Nagavkin appealed this decision in the regional court.
On September 28, 2016, the police came to Nagavkin with a search warrant, accusing him of stealing jewelry, and detained him. According to the investigation, Nagavkin, along with "unidentified persons," allegedly broke into a pawnshop, but could not steal anything due to circumstances beyond their control. The police did not present any fingerprints or witnesses to the "theft." Details of the case are collected in the reference material of the "Caucasian Knot" "Main information about the arrests and releases of Igor Nagavkin".
On September 2, Igor Nagavkin's sister Natalia Shishlina informed a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that the administration of the general regime colony where he is serving his two-year sentence placed Igor in a punishment cell for 15 days on August 21.
"We do not know the reason. He is in the punishment cell until September 4. He sent a letter on Tuesday," said Natalia.
Natalia Shishlina suggests that a possible reason for her brother's placement in the isolation cell could be the anti-terrorist exercises in Kamyshin, which she learned about from the news.
As part of the exercises in the correctional colony in Kamyshin, law enforcement officers practiced suppressing group disobedience of convicts and rescuing hostages. Units of the FSB, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Emergency Situations, National Guard, Armed Forces, and the Federal Penitentiary Service participated in the exercises, reported "Height 102" on September 1.
Nagavkin does not inform his relatives about his health condition and the conditions of his detention in the colony. According to his sister, Igor is waiting for his release from prison.
"He is to be released on October 10. He is preparing for this. We are waiting for him very much," said Natalia Shishlina.
Lawyer Sergey Ivashchenko, familiar with Igor Nagavkin's criminal case and the circumstances of his stay in the colony, noted in a conversation with a correspondent that the issue of Igor Nagavkin's parole (early conditional release) "was not raised earlier and does not make sense now."
The possibility of mitigating criminal punishment is a constitutional right of citizens (part 3 of article 50 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation), and any convict can exercise this right. But there are significant limitations, the lawyer noted.
"Nagavkin could have submitted a petition for early conditional release. But there was no point in this, as he spent the entire year in the Urupinsk settlement colony engaged in human rights activities, constantly raising issues with the colony administration and the prosecutor's office regarding numerous violations of prisoners' rights. Apparently, this was the reason he spent almost the entire year in the punishment cell. His attempt to challenge the penalties in court was ineffective. When he was transferred to the general regime colony in Kamyshin, the situation repeated: Igor spent 15 days in the punishment cell in May, and now again. It is clear that it is impossible to challenge such a number of penalties in court, so he had no chances for early conditional release," explained Sergey Ivashchenko.
Citing the Review of Judicial Practice on Early Conditional Release from Serving a Sentence (approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on April 29, 2014), Ivashchenko listed the main circumstances that contribute to obtaining early conditional release: the behavior of the convict throughout the entire period of serving the sentence, attitude towards work during the sentence, and compensation for the harm caused by the crime (in full or in part). "Of all the listed, Nagavkin only compensated for the harm he caused," noted Sergey Ivashchenko.
"Conversations about early conditional release are already meaningless, as in a month Nagavkin will be released," said Sergey Ivashchenko.