Facebook shuts down account of Russian prisoners’ rights activist
Facebook has shut down the account of activist Vladimir Osechkin, the founder of the human rights group Gulagu.net. Writing in a Telegram post on Tuesday, November 2, Gulagu.net stated that by all appearances, Osechkin’s account has been deleted.
“No warnings, no complaints, there’s simply no such account and that’s it. 4,999 friends, more than 12,000 subscribers, our window for communication with journalists and the press from all over the world. And it was demolished on the night of November 1–2,” Gulagu.net wrote.
Attempts to visit Osechkin’s Facebook page prompts a message that says: “This content isn’t available right now. When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.”
Gulagu.net claims that Osechkin’s account being blocked is “another attempt by the Russian special services to destroy Gulagu.net and Vladimir Osechkin personally.” The rights group also urged Facebook to conduct a thorough investigation and restore Osechkin’s account.
Human rights group Gulagu.net (No to the Gulag) specializes in defending the rights of Russian inmates and collecting data on the unlawful actions of Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) officials. In early October, the group published three video clips allegedly evidencing the torture and rape of inmates at the penitentiary service’s Tuberculosis Hospital No. 1 in the Saratov region. The hospital’s leadership was fired and investigators opened several criminal cases on charges of sexual assault and abuse of power.
Gulagu.net obtained the videos from whistleblower and former inmate Sergey Savelyev, who identified himself after fleeing Russia and seeking asylum in France. On October 23, reports emerged that Russian police officials had added Savelyev to a wanted list for allegedly violating his parole.