Jailed cybersecurity executive Ilya Sachkov held in solitary confinement, denied visitors and correspondence

Russian investigators refuse to give permission for Group-IB founder Ilya Sachkov’s relatives to visit him at the Lefortovo remand prison, where he is in custody awaiting trial for treason.

“It’s not easy to organize a meeting at Lefortovo. So far, the investigator hasn’t allowed his wife and mother, [or] other loved ones, to visit him in the pre-trial detention center,” Sachkov’s lawyer Dmitry Dikhtyar told the state news agency TASS on Thursday, October 21.

Earlier, human rights activists relayed Sachkov’s complaints about isolation and the conditions of detention in the remand prison. According to Alexander Khurudzhi, a member of Moscow’s Public Monitoring Commission, the cybersecurity executive is being held in solitary confinement, doesn’t have access to newspapers or television, and is prohibited from sending and receiving correspondence. 

Also on Thursday, the Moscow City Court dismissed an appeal against the decision to jail Ilya Sachkov pending trial. His defense lawyers intend to file a cassation appeal against this ruling. 

At the end of September, officials raided Group-IB’s Moscow office and arrested Ilya Sachkov on treason charges. That same day, a local court jailed him for two months, pending trial. According to media reports, Sachkov stands accused of the “disclosure of information that contains state secrets.” No further details have been disclosed, as the case materials are classified. Sachkov maintains his innocence, as does Group-IB. According to his defense lawyers, the case isn’t linked to the cybersecurity company’s activities. 

In early October, Forbes published an open letter by Sachkov’s mother, in which she appeals directly to Vladimir Putin to disclose the details of the charges against her son, conduct an honest investigation into his case, and free him. In turn, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Lyudmila Sachkova’s letter hadn’t been seen in the Kremlin.