Pavel Vrublevskiy, founder of the electronic payment system ChronoPay and convicted of fraud in Russia, has taken to court a reprimand he received at Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina prison for sleeping during the daytime.
According to court documents, Vrublevskiy was reprimanded for daytime sleep, which was deemed a violation of internal regulations. The documents state that the inmate did not respond to warnings from a prison officer, leading to the disciplinary action.
However, Vrublevskiy denied sleeping during the day in his defense, rejected the reprimand and refused to sign the disciplinary report. He then filed a lawsuit against the prison administration.
In a petition submitted to the court, Vrublevskiy's lawyers stated that the legal framework regulating detention conditions in the Russian Federation contains no provision banning sleep at any time of the day. The case is scheduled to be heard in July.
Meanwhile, Alexei Melnikov, a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights (SPCh), said the council has prepared proposals to amend internal regulations in prisons and colonies, which will soon be submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Penitentiary Service.
Melnikov said they are proposing a regulation that would allow two hours of daytime sleep for detainees and suspects depending on their health condition. The proposals also include allowing people who wear dental bridges to have oral care devices.
The internal regulations in prisons were updated in 2022, granting inmates eight hours of nighttime sleep and the right to lie down outside of sleeping hours. However, current rules contain no specific provision regarding daytime sleep.
