Complaints as a danger, phone account blocked: how a prisoner in JVA Heidering is to be silenced

Corrected on 3 November 2026: in the version sent out, the section “The threats in prison” said Bagrash stays away from outdoor exercise “because he does not feel safe”. That was inaccurate; the section has been corrected.

JVA Heidering refuses the Russian opposition activist Dmitry Bagrash open conditions and any form of leave. The written sentence plan of 26 October 2026, now available verbatim, gives as reasons also that Bagrash files complaints, writes e-mails, insists on written decisions and publishes them. The plan bears no name and no signature. In addition, since 31 October nobody outside can top up his phone account – his only regular contact with the outside world. Today Bagrash is applying for an independent expert opinion and an independent investigation of the threats against him in prison.

What the sentence plan says (quotations)

• Against open conditions: Bagrash has “already shown willingness” to carry out “publications and further publicity activities” (p. 3).
• If his demands are not met, he threatens “sending a multitude of e-mails, filing further complaints, publicising the matter and a hunger strike” (p. 3).
• When decisions do not suit him, he “repeatedly insists on a written decision and announces that he may publish it” (p. 9).
• Risk of absconding: “Mr B. still rejects the conviction against him” (p. 3).
• As a measure: “referral to an external provider for offence work (e.g. for de-radicalisation measures; VPN)” (p. 6).
• In his favour: no disciplinary reports, work rated “good” to “very good”, no substance problems. Not enough (p. 4).
• The prognosis is copied verbatim from the diagnostic report of April 2026, including a standardised score corresponding to a reoffending risk “in the lower average range” (pp. 11 f.).
• Conference participants: “TAL’in 1; GL’in 1-5/6; GL’in 1-1/2”. Author: “GL’in 1-5/6”. Signature: none.

On 24 September 2026 the Kammergericht held, on the previous plan, that a sentence plan without signature and without the names of those responsible is no defect; the law requires only written form (5 Ws 165/26). Bagrash’s appeal, written without a lawyer, failed on formal requirements.

The threats in prison

Since July 2024 Bagrash has repeatedly reported threats by two fellow prisoners. On 5 August 2026 he was threatened with death in the workshop, insulted in antisemitic terms and spat at three times. On 21 August 2026, after evaluating the video footage, the prison found that Bagrash was not the aggressor. In the investigation by the Potsdam public prosecutor (496 Js 34084/26) Bagrash has not been questioned to this day; he knows of no investigative step. An earlier case of threats was closed by the Amtsanwaltschaft Berlin in 2025 without questioning the witnesses he had named. The sentence plan mentions the threats only as a “threat situation”.

Since 2024 Bagrash has not taken part in outdoor exercise and leaves his cell only to work – by his account not out of fear for his safety, but to give as few opportunities as possible for further provocations. Since July 2024 two fellow prisoners who threatened him have successively been placed close to him, despite his reports – for months in the same unit and later at the same workplace. Bagrash is convinced this is no coincidence and suspects the Berlin Attorney General’s Office is behind it; he cannot prove it. He asks the House of Representatives to investigate. He knows of no risk assessment that considers all incidents together.

Phone account can no longer be topped up from outside

Since 31 October 2026 at the latest, relatives and supporters can no longer pay credit into Bagrash’s phone account in the in-cell media system of the operator Telio (account 127-281-20). Three people tried independently at different times. mytel.io shows “Number not found”, cyou.org “Something went wrong”. To Bagrash’s knowledge, other prisoners can still receive credit. He has received no notice of a block. Whether it is a fault, a block by the operator or an instruction from the prison is open. Today Bagrash filed an urgent request with the prison and an application for an interim order with the enforcement chamber, and asked Telio and the Senate Department for Justice to clarify.

This followed a complaint nobody answers: since 17 August 2026 calls from prison to German mobile networks cost twice as much, abroad up to nine times as much. JVA Heidering has not even acknowledged Bagrash’s application of 3 September; the Senate Department forwarded it to a specialist officer on 10 September and has not decided since; Telio has not replied. On 29 October Bagrash therefore applied to the enforcement chamber. By his own account, since the increase he buys nothing in the prison shop except tobacco and coffee, no food; he needs the money for the phone.

The chain of obstacles – each step is documented

• 2021: “Putin is a Killer” placard seized outside the Russian embassy (Case 0).
• 2025/2026: escort to the court clerk for appeals refused for months.
• July 2026: video calls blocked because he allegedly spread “personal views about the Berlin judiciary” – set aside as unlawful by the Regional Court in September.
• August 2026: letter with his draft appeal held back for five days – found unlawful by the Regional Court in October.
• August 2026: phone charges doubled; complaints unanswered.
• October 2026: sentence plan treats complaints, e-mails and publications as a danger.
• 31 October 2026: phone account can no longer be topped up from outside.

Two court decisions in three weeks

Within three weeks the Regional Court Berlin I declared two measures of JVA Heidering unlawful: the blocking of his video calls (11 September 2026) and the five-day delay in handing over a letter containing the draft of his appeal (2 October 2026, 595 StVK 134/26 Vollz). A disciplinary complaint against the officer who had ordered the block was rejected by the prison: no breach of duty.

Ban on deportation to Russia

A letter from the Petitions Committee of the Berlin House of Representatives of 10 September 2026 shows: on 17 March 2026 the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees found that a ban on deportation to the Russian Federation applies to Bagrash (§ 60(5) and (7) AufenthG). The Land Berlin is nevertheless pursuing his expulsion; after 34 years in Germany he would lose his permanent residence permit. Today Bagrash asked the Federal Office for a copy of that decision.

The background since 2021

As chairman of Unkremlin e. V., Bagrash organised protests outside the Russian embassy. On 17 September 2021, two days before the Duma election, police – according to Bagrash on the order of a senior public prosecutor – seized his placard “Putin is a Killer”; the proceedings for insulting the Russian president were later dropped. The judge who confirmed the seizure issued the arrest warrant against him in December 2022. Bagrash documents this prehistory on his website (Case 0).

What Bagrash is applying for today

• To the enforcement chamber (fax): supplement to his application against the sentence plan; an opinion by an external expert who does not belong to the Berlin prison system; production of the complete diagnostic records.
• To JVA Heidering: external assessment, access to files, the names of those responsible and a risk assessment.
• To the prison and the enforcement chamber (urgent request, interim order): immediate restoration of payments into his phone account.
• To the Potsdam public prosecutor and the Petitions Committee of the Brandenburg Landtag: status, securing of the video footage, questioning of the witness while he can still be reached in the prison.
• To the German National Agency for the Prevention of Torture and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT): information on his conditions of detention.

On the diagnostic interview of March 2026, Bagrash has declared under oath that the psychologist told him at the end of the interview that, on the instruction of the management, she had to write a statement very unfavourable to him. The diagnostic report bears no signature; according to its own notice it cannot be reviewed by a court.

Questions editors can ask

• To JVA Heidering and the Senate Department for Justice: Are a prisoner’s complaints, e-mails and publications treated as a negative factor when deciding on open conditions? Who wrote the plan of 26 October 2026?
• To the Senate Department: Are prisoners who deny their offence routinely refused open conditions for lack of “offence work”?
• To JVA Heidering, the Senate Department and Telio: Is phone account 127-281-20 blocked, since when, on whose instruction? Did the Senate Department approve the price increase of 17 August 2026?
• To the Potsdam public prosecutor: What investigations have taken place in 496 Js 34084/26? Has the video footage been secured?
• To the Senate Department for the Interior: How is the expulsion compatible with the established ban on deportation?

There is no disciplinary finding against the officers involved; the presumption of innocence applies to the fellow prisoners and to those named in the criminal complaint of 2 September 2026. Bagrash’s applications and complaints have not been decided; the assessments are his.

Documents

Contact: bagrash.presse@gmail.com · Press ID 2135610 · Dmitry Bagrash, JVA Heidering, Ernst-Stargardt-Allee 1, 14979 Großbeeren. This press release may be passed on unchanged.