A member of Russia's presidential council for human rights said activist Ildar Dadin, who claims to have been tortured and beaten in prison, refused to be transferred to a different facility.
Igor Kalyapin, who said earlier that Dadin must be moved to another penitentiary as the conflicts between him and the guards in the penal colony were "too deep," said on November 9 that the activist does not want to leave the inmates in the facility in the northwestern town of Segezha.
According to Kalyapin, Dadin fears that if he leaves the colony the other inmates will continue being mistreated by the guards.
Dadin claimed in a letter to his wife that he had been tortured and threatened while serving his 2 1/2-year sentence, which started in December.Rights defenders who visited the penitentiary say that other inmates also reported being tortured and beaten.
Dadin, 34, was the first person convicted in Russia of taking part in multiple unsanctioned protests. He received a three-year sentence in December that was later reduced by six months.