Тюрьмы

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!

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.

“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."

Sometimes you’ll hear people say that in modern Russia, it’s a waste of money to hire a lawyer for politically motivated cases. After all, they say, the person will be found guilty either way, and they’ll still get a sentence.

Solidarity Zone explain why having a lawyer is vital for political prisoners in Russia.

On the 4th of January 2023 32 year old Yaroslav Vilchevski was arrested for posting on his telegram channel about the anarchist Mikhail Zhobitski. Radio Liberty has called him an anarchist, but himself he is identifying himself as animal rights activist and musician. Radio Liberty has quoted some of his comments, and he has also criticized the mass mobilization when it was announced in Russia.

Ilya is a young guy from Novosibirsk. He opposes war, loves animals and plays sports: from CrossFit to swimming. Ilya was detained at the end of September and accused of trying to set fire to the military enlistment office. The case was opened under the article on the organization of a terrorist attack (part 4 of article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), which provides punishment from 15 to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.

Ruslan Zinin’s mother Marina Zinina has reported that on March 21 [her son] was transferred to a solitary confinement cell without explanation.

“They came and took him away, saying, ‘Let’s go to another place.’ They put him in the basement in a solitary confinement cell. […] The conditions are terrible. It’s damp and cold and reeks of sewage, and rats are running around, and there’s nothing in the cell at all, except for a cot. There’s nowhere to store food, nowhere to get water, there’s no kettle, there’s nothing.”

Fundraiser for continuing Viktor “Vitya” Filinkov’s campaign against the FSIN, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service!

I haven’t written here for a long time generally and about Vitya in particular. We haven’t seen each other for almost two months. That’s an awfully long time, and I miss him terribly. Soon I will fly back to Orenburg and tell you how Vitya is doing, but after meeting with him.

On October 31, in the city Chita (Siberia, Russia) FSB officers detained Alexandr Snezhkov (19 years old) and Lyubov Lizunova (16 years old) because of graffiti “Death to the regime”. FSB was interested in their activities on the Internet as admins Telegram-channels «Shugan-25» and «75zlo».

Hi everyone! Today is Sunday, 4 of December and we continue our weekly podcast “Trends of order and chaos” This is episode 83. This is what caught our attention in the past week..

1. What should the mobilized do?

In Kazan, at the 1st or 2nd of December the mobilized left in crowds the military unit and went home.

Hi everyone! Today is Sunday, 16 of October and we continue our weekly podcast “Trends of order and chaos” This is episode 76. So, what we saw and thought about this week?

At the beginning of September, a court in Tyumen arrested six antifascists, the youngest of whom is 23, the oldest - 28 years old. One of the arrested is accused of organizing a terrorist group, the rest – of participation. Apart from that, two of the defendants in the case are accused of manufacturing explosives. Since then, three of the accused, have informed about tortures by electric shocks.

Solidarity Zone is a new initiative, established by anti-authoritarian activists. Anarchist Black Cross Moscow is cooperating with the new initiative, and we encourage everyone to support it.

Solidarity Zone is a horizontal initiative supporting those persecuted for anti-war actions. We came together in the spring of 2022 to help those left without attention by human rights organizations.

Interview was made by German anarcho-pacifist paper Graswurzelrevolution, and is published in the new issue of the paper in German. English translation by ABC Moscow.  

- During the last months you have been very busy with supporting anti-war activists. How many anti-war prisoners are you supporting at the moment?

On August 30-31 in Tyumen, Yekaterinburg and Surgut, six antifascists were detained and later placed in pre-trial detention centers. This is reported by the Prometheus telegram channel:

"On August 30, two anti-fascists were detained in Tyumen. According to investigators, they were carrying an explosive, which they allegedly wanted to test near the Tyumen Thermal Power Plant. On 2 September they were charged with fabrication of weapons and detained until the end of October.

An evening of solidarity with anarchist prisoners was held in "Tol'ko Sami" space in Moscow on August 27th. Several dozen people came to support the imprisoned comrades.

On June 4, Vladimir Zolotarev set fire to the National guard entrance in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Next day he was detained. In March, several canisters of fuel were found in his car, but he was not charged at the time. Now, Zolotarev is charged with "violence against a representative of authority" and "attempting to commit an act of terrorism."

On Saturday, August 27, 16-30 - 21-00, Moscow, "Tolko Sami" place (Shlomina, 6). As a part of the International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners