We share translation of an open letter written by defendant of the "Tyumen case" Danil Chertykov in detention. He talks about the difficulties he had to face in SIZO-1 of Tyumen and compared the penal system to the digestive system. The letter was translated specifically for our website.
In September, Yura Neznamov had to fight for his health and medical care. A neoplasm appeared on his leg. Later it turned out to be a small benign tumor. All complaints about his health were ignored by the doctors of SIZO-1 in Tyumen (where the defendants in the "Tyumen case" are kept). The lawyer wrote a large number of complaints and obtained medical care for Yura.
Drawing by Nikita Oleynik
Six anarchists from Russia have been held in pre-trial detention for a year on spurious charges of creating a "terrorist community". According to Russian law, our comrades face a total of 5 to 15 years of imprisonment for the charged articles, and 15 to 30 years of life imprisonment for organizing or leading a "terrorist community". The main proof of guilt is a confession given under torture.
Firefund calls everyone to support the crowdfunding to pay the lawyers for the defendants in the "Tyumen case". The guys have been in pre-trial detention for more than a year and they will face trials on the merits of the case. Families and relatives will have to pay for the participation of lawyers in these sessions and they will not be able to cope without help!
In night between 16th and 17th of October in Bishkek, according to DOXA, unknown people kidnapped activist of Left Bloc, anarchist Lev Skoryakin. Lawyers do not know about his whereabouts. In Russia, Skoryakin is accused of ”hooliganism with weapons”, due to action against a FSB office in the South-West of Moscow with another activist of the Left Bloc Ruslan Abasov. Skoryakin and Abasov were holding banners and burning flares at the office.
Because Kirill Brik, a defendant of the Tyumen case, signed a pre-trial agreement, Anarchist Black Cross of Moscow is no longer supporting him anymore. In some cases we do support prisoners who give testimonies against themselves, but we do not support prisoners that are testifying against others.
The translation was first published here.
An event in support of Russian political prisoners will be held in Helsinki on October 6.
Program:
On 4 September 2023, former Moscow State University graduate student and political prisoner Azat Miftakhov was released from penal colony. On the same day Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged Miftakhov in a criminal case for «justifying terrorism». According to FSB, Azat discussed with other prisoners the war in Ukraine and the actions of the anarchist Mikhail Zhlobitsky, who caused an explosion in the FSB building and died in 2018.
At the end of each August, anarchists and anti-authoritarian activists from around the world take part in the International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners.
We call you to support political prisoners in Russia and Belarus by letters!
July 28th the First Eastern Regional Court in Khabarovsk has handed down its sentence in the case of the burning of the National Guard building in Komsomolsk on the Amur. The 51-year old taxi-driver Vladimir Zolotarev was found guilty of committing an "act of terrorism", even though no-one was harmed in the fire.
The support team of the arrested guys in the «Tyumen case» is launching a Festival of solidarity with political prisoners on the occasion of the anniversary of the arrest of our comrades. The festival will be held from August 15 to September 15, 2023.
Ivan Kudryashov is an anti-war activist who made a street art piece in the center of Tver with the text “Fuck the War.” In September 2022, he was detained by the Federal Security Service. FSB officers planted Molotov cocktails in Ivan’s apartment and tortured the activist in an attempt to pressurize him to confess to preparing the arson of a military enlistment office.
At the end of May, anarchist Alexey Rozhkov was illegally extradited from Kyrgyzstan to Russia. Without observing the procedures under Kyrgyz law and international norms, officers from the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security kidnapped Alexey and took him to the Russian Federation, where he was detained by FSB officers. The former threatened Alexei with torture, and the FSB put those threats into action — the young man told us that he had been tasered.
Dear friends, welcome to our latest update!
This is long overdue. As usual, we start with (relatively) good news. Krasnoyarsk anarchists Danil Ivanov and Ilya Vinogradov were given 5 and 3.5 years probational sentences respectively. They were accused of ”robbery”, for paying a visit to a former comrade who had been seen hanging out with Nazis. Congratulations to Danil and Ilya for dodging prison!
On 31 May the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Igor Paskar to eight-and-a-half years’ imprisonment on charges of “vandalism” and “terrorism”. He was found guilty of burning a Z-banner [a pro-war symbol] and the symbolic firebombing of the FSB [Federal Security Service] building in Krasnodar. The day before his sentencing, Igor gave his final statement in court. Here is a translation of his speech:
“In our last meeting with Azat Miftakhov it was decided to write about the pressure security forces exert on Azat, previously not brought up by the support group – reports the channel FreeAzat! We were not doing it because at the beginning of his incarceration, we heard about Azat’s unwillingness to disclose this topic – back when it was too sensitive for him. Later in the penal colony, at his suggestion, we wanted to reserve the topic in case the administration uses pressure on prisoners with (political) status."
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first anti-authoritarian international, international meetings are being prepared in the Swiss Jura mountains. They will take place from July 19 to 23, 2023.
You may read the full information on the website.
As part of the gathering, we would like to announce two events, organised by Autonomous Action and Anarchist Black Cross – Moscow.
Supporting anarchist and anti-war prisoners in Russia
On May 29, anti-war activist Alexey Rozhkov, who had fled from Russia to Kyrgyzstan, was extending his temporary registration in his host country. And the very next day, early in the morning, security forces broke into his home. On June 7, lawyer Kamil Isabekov visited Alexey Rozhkov in a temporary detention center in the suburbs of Yekaterinburg (the largest city in the Urals) to find out the circumstances of his transfer to Russia. Anti-war human rights initiative Solidarity Zone wrote about it.
June 11th is the International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason & All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners. This action day has a long history, it was organized first time 20 years ago in 2004. In the first year, we managed to paint a graffiti to wall of one of the most guarded objects of Moscow,...
Anarchist group ANA Regensburg hosted my online-presentation on 16th of May 2024, in which I discussed tactics of anti-war activism in Russia, and reasons why the anti-war movement has not been able to make an impact to change the course of events yet. Cases of anarchists repressed for anti-war...