Political prisoner Vladimir Osipov dies in a pretrial detention center following prison sentence for “spreading army fakes”

Russian political prisoner Vladimir Osipov has died in a pretrial detention center, as reported by the Prison Lawyers Telegram channel and RusNews. According to the outlet, the death notice came from the Ukhta detention center, where the 56-year-old was recently transferred from the Moscow region.

This past November, Osipov was sentenced to six and a half years in a penal colony for “spreading fakes” about the Russian armed forces. The prosecution built its case against Osipov based on posts he made to the Odnoklassniki social network. Russian authorities alleged that the defendant had claimed that Russian troops were “killing children in Donbas” and that Vladimir Putin had organized the October 2022 Kerch Bridge attack.

At one of his hearings, Osipov complained of having high blood pressure, requesting that his final statement in court be postponed for health reasons. Judge Yulia Terekhova denied the request. Earlier, during the substantive proceedings, Osipov had repeatedly required emergency medical assistance.

Osipov was arrested in November 2024 in Moscow Region. Relatives claimed that officers of the Russian security forces had severely beaten him during the search, and that the investigator had pressured his family members to testify against him.