"Beatings during detention, threats, intimidation and conditions in the pre-trial detention center, and untimely and improper medical assistance have caused me a great deal of physical and moral suffering," the 16-year-old prisoner in a penal colony for minors in the Russian Republic of Karelia said in his lawsuit.
The Karelian children's rights association said the suit had been filed by the teenager, whose name cannot be published for legal reasons, and who is serving a four-year sentence for involvement in robbery and assault.
The plaintiff also complained about his confinement in a pre-trial detention center for nine months, despite positive recommendations from school authorities who had asked that he be released, on their guarantees, while the investigation was being completed.
The association, which helped to file the suit, said the verdict was too harsh for an offense, given that the teenager had not directly perpetrated the attack.
"What kind of person will he be when he returns to normal society after four years in the colony?" the association said. "What will he learn there?"
Local prosecutors previously said they had looked into the young convict's complaints but found no evidence to support them.
