The relatives of pensioner Nabiev are deprived of information about his condition in the pre-trial detention center.

The daughter of Nikolai Nabiev, who reported being beaten by guards in court, does not know about her father's health condition. Human rights activists collecting money for three elderly defendants say there is a lack of feedback from the pre-trial detention center, and Marina Zakharova complained in a letter about the lack of medicine and stuffiness.

As reported by “Caucasian Knot”, the defendant in the case of the Kuban pensioners, Nikolai Nabiev, stated in the Southern District Military Court that the guards beat him when he asked for medicine. At the hearing on October 12, a bruise was visible on his cheek under his left eye. The convoy staff returned a vial of nitroglycerin to him only at the judge's request.

Nikolai Nabiev, Sergey Kuzovenko, and Marina Zakharova, accused of creating an illegal armed formation and illegal arms trafficking, have been in custody for more than two years. The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has been considering the case since December 2025. The next hearings are scheduled for November 30, December 1, 14, and 15, and they will last the entire working day, said lawyer Svetlana Pogosyan to “Caucasian Knot”. She did not report any bans on the presence of listeners in the hall.

Pogosyan confirmed that Nabiev “really spoke in court about the origin of the bruise.” There is no other information about his well-being from “Caucasian Knot”: neither relatives nor lawyers know if he is receiving medication and what assistance he is being provided.

Nabiev's daughter Alevtina does not know in what condition her father is; she learned about his beating from a correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”. She has no contact with appointed lawyers. She was informed by his granddaughter, who visited pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don with a package, that Nabiev had lost consciousness on September 7 and was hospitalized. There, she was told that Nabiev was in the hospital, and in the hospital, that he had been admitted to intensive care in serious condition. Nabiev lost consciousness on the way from the pre-trial detention center to the court and spent almost a month in the hospital.

Alevtina does not know if her father is receiving financial assistance from human rights activists. According to her, letters do not reach him: she and acquaintances wrote through prison mail, received delivery notifications, but there was no response. The woman lives about 360 kilometers from Rostov-on-Don and cannot travel there without assurance that she will be allowed a visit. She intends to contact the lawyers soon.

Raw cell and refusals for visits

The daughter of Sergey Kuzovenko Nadezhda said that her father and Nabiev are held in the same cell of pre-trial detention center No. 1 – the so-called quarantine cell, in the basement, where it is cold and damp. “My father has no lung, but he never complains,” she said.

The last time Nadezhda saw her father was two years ago. She submits written requests for visits, but in response, she receives phone calls denying her; she does not receive a written decision, making it difficult to appeal the refusal. She is told that a visit is possible after the verdict. Her requests to transfer her father to a cell suitable for his condition have also been unsuccessful, she added.

Nadezhda learned about Nabiev's beating and that he had not received the necessary medications from the lawyers. According to her information, Nabiev, along with his lawyer, filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office. Nabiev had a third group disability, but after his stay in the hospital, he was assigned a second group, which the lawyers also informed her about. Nadezhda and her father's acquaintances tried to attend open hearings, but they were not allowed in. She believes that all three elderly defendants are feeling unwell.

Her father receives monthly financial assistance from activists, Nadezhda confirmed, and she thanked the donors.

Zakharova asks to send medicine

Marina Zakharova is held in pre-trial detention center No. 3 in Novocherkassk, Rostov region. Activist Marina Melikhova, who was previously in the same cell with her, told “Caucasian Knot” that she recently received a letter from her through the electronic correspondence system with prisoners and provided the editorial office with a copy.

Zakharova asks to send her a radio receiver and medicines – enalapril in dosages of 40 and 10 milligrams, validol in capsules, two packages of nitroglycerin, two packages of papaverine, and glycine of 200 milligrams. “There are no medicines in the medical unit, so survive as you can,” the letter states.

She only sees Nabiev and Kuzovenko in court. “The conditions in pre-trial detention center No. 3 can be compared to the last century; there is not even a television,” Zakharova writes. According to her, the cells are stuffy around the clock: the ventilation does not work, and the fans do not cope with the heat in summer, causing prisoners to suffer from heat strokes and heart attacks. Dairy products and mayonnaise are prohibited for sale in the pre-trial detention center store.

“There is no feedback”

The founder and leader of the “Assistance to Political Prisoners” movement Elena Rokhlina was unaware of Nabiev's beating. Attempts to contact the staff of the pre-trial detention center have not yielded results, and it is also difficult to get feedback from relatives and lawyers, she told “Caucasian Knot”. “There is no feedback,” she explained.

Rokhlina hopes that assistance still reaches the accused. “Despite everything, we hope that our material assistance provides at least some support to elderly sick people and that they do receive it,” the activist said.

Previously, the movement sent each of the three defendants four thousand rubles a month. Now donations have decreased, and assistance has been reduced to two thousand rubles per person, Rokhlina said. The collection consists of small contributions: 50, 100, 200 rubles, the largest being one thousand. With this money, the movement buys food and medicine. The collection continues, but donations are coming in more slowly, she added. Rokhlina does this on a voluntary basis.

Recently, the movement received a letter from Zakharova requesting medicines, bought the medications, and assembled a food package. In early October, the activist arrived at pre-trial detention center No. 3 in Novocherkassk, but was told that Zakharova had been taken to a hearing in Rostov-on-Don, and they did not say when she would return. According to a source in the court, after the hearing on October 14, Zakharova was returned to the Novocherkassk pre-trial detention center until November 30. She does not tolerate trips well, so she requested to hold hearings via video link, but there was no response.

In the spring of 2026, the movement sent a request to the head of pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don to provide elderly defendants with medical assistance and decent conditions. There was no response, and it is unlikely there will be one, Rokhlina believes. According to her information from unofficial sources, conditions have not improved, and medicines are still unavailable.

What is known about the case

All three defendants are charged with illegal arms trafficking and creating an illegal armed formation . The case is being considered by Judge Maxim Nikitin alone, with six appointed lawyers: Sergey Gunyko, Alexander Lazarenko, Marina Levenets, Svetlana Pogosyan, Anatoly Tkachenko, and Svetlana Chotchaeva.

A source in the court told “Caucasian Knot” that the case is currently “at the stage of questioning witnesses.” According to the source, “the trial will still take a long time, as hearings are scheduled infrequently.” According to the case card on the court's website, preliminary hearings in the case were completed on January 12, after which there were 17 court sessions; the last one to date took place on October 13.

Initially, the case was considered by the Uspensky District Court of Krasnodar Krai. In June 2025, after the accusation was supplemented with the motive “for the purpose of terrorist activity,” it was transferred to the Southern District Military Court. According to the prosecution's version, the pensioners participated in the creation of an armed group associated with the territorial-tribal community “Rus of Kuban” and were engaged in illegal arms trafficking. The defendants do not admit guilt and claim that they were fighting against corruption in government bodies. Relatives and some sources familiar with the case question the prosecution's version.

Health problems for the defendants arose before the case was transferred to the military court. In December 2025, hearings were postponed due to Nabiev's condition, who reportedly suffered a third heart attack.