The lawyer said that the conditions of Marat Kasem’s imprisonment could be regarded as torture.
On January 30, Kasem was transferred without any reason to the block for convicted prisoners and put in solitary confinement. Due to unsanitary conditions and insects in the cell, Kasem has an allergy.
The prison doctor ignored the journalist's complaints and diagnosis and gave him simple allergy pills. Kasem’s lawyer specified that his client's health condition was critical, and he was preparing a complaint to get a medical examination for Kasem.
Kasem’s lawyer also said that due to breathing problems, Kasem had to open a cell window, while sleeping in a hat and outerwear. Chronic diseases, he added, have also aggravated, toes fail due to gout, and everyone ignores his complaints and knocks on the cell door.
The lawyer added that Kasem was allowed to call him only on the third day, although the law provides that an arrested person can contact their lawyer any time. He believes the prosecution uses all these measures in order to obtain a confession from the arrested journalist.
Kasem, a Latvian national working at the Sputnik Lithuania editorial desk of Moscow-based international media group Rossiya Segodnya, was detained during a trip to the Latvian capital on January 3 and sent to Riga Central Prison two days later.
He was accused of violating EU sanctions against Russia as well as of espionage, an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The journalist was allowed to say final goodbye to his grandmother, who died while he was in prison.