Vladimir Akimenkov is 26 years old. He was arrested on his birthday—June 10 of last year.
In the pre-trial detention center (SIZO, a Russian remand prison), where Akimenkov has been held for almost a year, he could go completely blind—he has a severe congenital eye condition.
At this point, he has 20% vision left in one eye and 10% in the other. But who cares? The charges against Akimenkov read as follows: "Citizen Akimenkov, as part of a group of 400 people, broke through a police cordon, continued participating in an unauthorized march, and when detained, attempted to disappear into the crowd of protesters." The case file includes interrogation records from a witness who was an OMON officer (Russian riot police), but there are no photos or videos confirming his guilt. Writer Sergei Shargunov says this about Vladimir Akimenkov:
