Nika Novak

Affiliated media: Journalist

Incident date: October 15, 2025

Attack type:

• Non-fatal attack / beating / injury / torture

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Radio Svoboda

Location: Russia, Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblast

Additional information:

Journalist Nika Novak from Chita has gone on a hunger strike to protest what she describes as torturous conditions in Correctional Colony No. 11 (IK-11) in the Irkutsk Region, where she is currently serving her sentence. Novak says she has been repeatedly placed in solitary confinement for refusing to give interviews praising the “good conditions” in the colony. After being moved to stricter detention conditions, she was assigned an aggressive cellmate, and her correspondence has reportedly stopped reaching her. According to Novak, colony officials are attempting to provoke her into disciplinary violations and have threatened her with new criminal charges. In November 2024, she was sentenced to four years in prison under Article 275.1 of the Russian Criminal Code for allegedly collaborating with a foreign organisation on a confidential basis. The FSB investigation accused her of working with the Radio Liberty regional project “Sibir.Realii.”