Russia: Prisons Close Because Prisoners Fight in Ukraine · Global Voices

Authorities in the Russian Krasnoyarsk district plan to close several prisons this year due to the reduction in the number of prisoners led by the recruitment of convicts for her war , writes the newspaper Kommersant today. Kommersant writes that Mark Denisov, the human rights commissioner of Krasnoyarsk District, Russia, speaking in the district Parliament said that at least two local prisons will be closed due to “a large reduction in the number of convicts in the special military operation (in Ukraine). Russia began recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine from 2022, when Yevgeni Prigozin, now the dead leader of the Wagner mercenaries’ team, began visiting prison colonies, offering prisoners a pardon if they survived six months on the front. Prigozin, who was killed in a plane crash a few months after a short-lived rebellion against Russia’s military leaders, had said he had recruited 50,000 prisoners for Wagner. At that time, the data published by the Russian prison agency showed sudden decreases in the country’s prison population. Russia’s defence ministry has continued to recruit convicts from prisons for its own formations known as Storm-Z.