The subject of the article is the legal status of individuals serving custodial sentences. Special emphasis is laid on the legal status of individuals serving sentences for multiple offences. The soviet state directed substantial public resources to maintenance of basic human conditions in prisons. Now the Russian Federation, which embarked on a course of reform, has carried out reform of state government and begun the modification of the penal system. Many generally accepted norms and principles of international law in the field of human rights were taken into account and implemented in the national legislation regulating the execution of punishment. The implementation of the rights and freedoms of convicts with regard to the provisions of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation remains problematic. During the serving of a sentence the legal status of convicts may change either for better or for worse, depending on their attitude to imprisonment. The sanctions imposed on individuals who committed multiple offences also restrict their legal status. Such additional limitation of rights must be reflected in the active legislation. The author considers specific restrictions imposed on individuals during the serving of a sentence and reveals the deficiencies of their legal coverage.