Lawyer Mikhail Biryukov told the human rights project Slovo Zashchite that his client was moved into the cell after being discharged from the prison hospital. The cell has no toilet, only a hole in the floor.
Kynev cannot use it because one of his legs is in a cast. "That is why he is not eating," Slovo Zashchite quoted the lawyer as saying. Biryukov said he had taken all possible measures to have his client transferred as quickly as possible to conditions matching his state of health.
According to the lawyer, Kynev is being held in the largest cell in the entire SIZO-4 pretrial detention facility. It is designed for 34 people but currently holds 35 detainees.
Kynev was detained on September 25 and accused of large-scale illegal drug trafficking, an offense that carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years. The analyst denies guilt. Meduza specifies that the case concerns an attempted drug sale.
Three days after his arrest, the Slovo Zashchite Telegram channel, citing a source in the medical unit of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), reported that Kynev had been diagnosed with two fractures of the tibia. The source claimed the injuries were the result of beatings and torture during detention. According to political analyst Ekaterina Schulmann, Kynev was beaten to force him to plead guilty to high treason.
Kynev was initially held in the hospital at the Matrosskaya Tishina pretrial detention facility, where a cast was placed on his broken leg. On October 14 he was transferred to SIZO-4, known as Medved.
Alexander Kynev specializes in Russian elections, regional politics and the structure of power in Russia's regions. Shortly before his detention he publicly commented on the recent State Duma elections. Kynev opposes the war in Ukraine but remained in Russia. The Russian authorities have added him to the register of "foreign agents."