Details of Amirov's complaints about custody conditions in colony made public

Said Amirov, a former Makhachkala Mayor, who uses a wheelchair, has filed several dozen lawsuits demanding to improve his custody conditions in the colony for life-sentenced prisoners.

Said Amirov has filed dozens of lawsuits, the last of which was filed in the fall of 2024, in which he asked to improve the food, medical treatment and other conditions of his custody at the “Black Dolphin” colony for life-sentenced prisoners, the RIA “Novosti” has reported today, citing court documents.

All the lawsuits are in one way or another related to the custody conditions or difficulties caused by Amirov's disability. Thus, in one of the statements, Amirov complained about the poor arrangement of the meeting room with advocates, which precludes the free exchange of documents.

A significant portion of lawsuits are related to nutrition in the colony. Amirov has indicated that he was entitled to some concessions due to his health condition, but in the colony, according to his story, this was not taken into account. Amirov also challenged the confiscation of a number of foodstuffs from him and the reduction in the volume of additional parcels with therapeutic nutrition (which includes vegetables, fruits, fermented milk products and cheese).

Besides, the former Mayor asked to give him sports equipment and allow a radio set; he challenged the confiscation of an alarm clock and homemade dumbbells, and complained that the equipment of the cell and the colony was not suitable for a wheelchair user. He also complained about the lack of fresh air in the cell, poor illumination, dampness and tobacco smoke.

Most of these Amirov’s claims were rejected; in other cases he himself refused from them, but in some cases the court has satisfied his lawsuits. Thus, according to Amirov's application, the court has obliged the colony to provide him with the opportunity to watch publicly available TV channels of his choice at the time established by the regulations, the RIA “Novosti” has added.

In 2015, the court sentenced Said Amirov, a former Makhachkala Mayor, to life imprisonment for organizing murders, banditry, and terrorism. He is serving his sentence at the “Black Dolphin” penal colony in the Orenburg Region. Amirov, who earlier received a gunshot wound to his spine, is a wheelchair invalid and suffers from a number of serious illnesses.

The October 2017 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on Amirov’s complaint equated his stay in the colony with torture. Russian and foreign doctors who examined Amirov agreed that he should be released. However, in December 2017, the court rejected the petition for his release due to health reasons. In 2019, Vladimir Postanyuk, an advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" that Amirov had banned all the advocates from giving any comments on his case.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 12, 2025 at 10:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.