Sergei Krivov, one of more than 20 Russians convicted of violating public order during a demonstration against election fraud in 2012, has been released from prison upon completion of his three-year, nine-month sentence.
Activists reported on social media on July 15 that Krivov had left Prison Colony No. 6 in Bryansk Oblast and was on his way to Moscow.
Several thousand Russians demonstrated on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow on May 6, 2012 against the reelection of President Vladimir Putin, and there were clashes with police during the event.
The investigation into the disorder and subsequent trials have come to be called the Bolotnaya Case.
Krivov was sentenced to four years in prison, including time already served, in February 2014, but an appeals court later reduced that sentence by three months.
During his trial, he complained that he had been beaten and he held two hunger strikes. He filed numerous complaints about treatment and conditions during his time in prison, which his lawyers say prompted his transfer to a facility with even worse conditions.
An appeal for his early release was rejected in March.
Two Bolotnaya detainees – Aleksei Gaskarov and Dmitry Ishevsky – remain in prison. Two others – Dmitry Buchenkov and Maksim Panfilov – are being held in pretrial detention. Last month, a court extended their term of detention until September.
