Russian prison service officials say jailed activist Ildar Dadin has been transferred out of the prison in northwestern Russia where he said he has been beaten and tortured.
The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said on December 5 that Dadin had been transferred out of the IK-7 penitentiary in the northwestern town of Segezha over the weekend and sent to a different prison. It said that Dadin's new location will be disclosed to his relatives only.
Dadin, 34, became the first Russian citizen jailed for participating in more than two unsanctioned public gatherings in 180 consecutive days under a controversial 2014 law that critics say is part of a redoubled Kremlin effort to stifle dissent during President Vladimir Putin's third term.
Dadin received a three-year sentence in December 2015, and it was later reduced by six months. Opposition activists regard him as a political prisoner.
Dadin made the torture accusations in an open letter in November that has shone a spotlight on claims of widespread abuse in Russia's prisons and jails.
He said at the time that he did not want to be transferred because he wanted to try to help other inmates at the prison whom he said were also abused.
FSIN officials have said they found no evidence to support Dadin's allegations, and a deputy director of the agency called him "a very talented faker."
