Russia

On April 25, 2024, the 1st District Military Court in a visiting session in Chita sentenced the antifascist Alexander Snezhkov to 6 years, and the antifascist Lyubov Lizunova to 3.5 years in prison. Snezhkov was found guilty under the article on vandalism motivated by political hostility because of a graffiti "Death to the regime". Both were convicted under articles on calls to extremism and terrorism. 

The Solidarity zone team learned that Rouslan Sidiki had been tortured after his detention almost as soon as the independent lawyer began work. However, it was important to obtain documentary evidence of the mutilation that was observed when he entered the SIZO (pre-trial detention centre). Now, some months later, his lawyer Igor Popovsky has now managed obtain that document.

According to Solidarity Zone, the lawyer Igor Popovsky visited Ruslan Siddiqui in the Moscow detention centre SIZO-5 and received a confirmation from him that the report by TASS about the anarchist's desire to go to fight on the side of the Russian Federation was a lie.

Original article on the website Crimethinc. The title photo shows letters of solidarity to Alexey in prison.

The anarchist Ruslan Siddiqui is accused of attacking the Dyagilevo military aerodrome, using quadcopters, and of damaging railway lines (in Ryazan region) that were used to transport military equipment and fuel to the Russian army in Ukraine.

Anti-War Human Rights Initiative Solidarity zone launching a fundraiser to pay for the next six months’ work by Ruslan’s lawyer. For six months’ legal work we need to raise €4290.

Our translation of the Antijob project article.

Not so long ago we wrote about the occupation of mills and factories in Argentine, but as our subscribers rightly noted something similar, but unfortunately on a smaller scale and with its own specifics, had happened in Russia’s modern history as well. 

Yuri Mikheev is an anti-fascist from Lobnya, just outside Moscow. On 10 November 2023, he and a friend were detained on the territory of a military unit in the Moscow region. The FSB accused the young men of planning to set fire to military equipment. A case was initiated under criminal articles regarding "preparation for sabotage". Yura faces up to 10 years.

Late last year, opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who had been sentenced to 19 years in prison for a number of trumped-up cases, was sent to a special regime penal colony in the settlement of Kharp in the Far North, one of the most hard-to-reach colonies. This region colonies are famous for its harsh regime and torture of prisoners.

Translation from the site freedomnews.org.uk. Original in Russian here.

~ NinaT

The compilation of music in support of prisoners. In 2022, punks and anti-fascists from Siberia and the Urals were tortured by police to fabricate a case. They are accused of terrorism, but they did not use any violence. Confessions were extracted with torture of electric shocks, strangulation with a bag, beatings and threats of rape with a mop. Antifascists face huge prison sentences

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.

The last day of the fundraising campaign for Tyumen case is January 1st. Unless goal is reached, none of the money is delivered for our comrades.

The anarchist Ruslan Siddiqui is accused of causing an explosion, on a railway used to transport military equipment and fuel to the Russian army in Ukraine. The result was the derailment of 19 carriages of a goods train in the Ryazan region. There were no casualties, although the driver’s assistant sustained non-serious injuries. Russian Railways assessed the damage at €300.000. Ruslan has been charged with committing a terrorist act, and possession of explosive material.

Danil is a convinced anti-fascist from Yekaterinburg, a loving husband and devoted friend, the soul of any company. He is one of the best veterinarians in Yekaterinburg, specializing as an orthopedic surgeon. Before his arrest, he worked in two veterinary clinics. Being a leading specialist in veterinary surgery, he constantly attended scientific conferences, improved his qualifications in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and mastered modern technologies in surgery and endoscopy. Danil trained veterinary specialists in Surgut.

Recently, the defendants in the «Tyumen case» have received the final version of the charges. According to the support group, in letters to relatives and friends they write that the investigation committee has added two further offenses to the «terrorism» charge:

• «the illicit manufacture of explosives as part of an organized criminal group» (part 3 of article 223.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), which envisages between fifteen and twenty years of deprivation of liberty

Yura is an antifascist and opponent of authoritarianism from Yekaterinburg, detained on August 31, 2022.

He is engaged in Thai boxing and studies computer technologies of graphic design. Yura is a talented freelance designer, recently he has been doing 3D modeling and drawing models for games and cartoons.

Help the defendants of the "Tyumen case" in their fight for freedom!

Firefund.net calls everyone to support the crowdfunding to pay the lawyers for the defendants in the "Tyumen case". Deadline is 1th of January 2024.

At the end of November, the anarchist Ruslan Siddiqui was arrested on suspicion of organising the derailment of a goods train in Ryazan province. On 2 December, the Dorogomilovsky district court in Moscow sent Ruslan to pre-trial detention.

Acts of railway sabotage are now quite common in Russia. Partisans use these to block the delivery of military supplies to the armed forces operating on Ukrainian territory.

Deniz is an anti-fascist from Tyumen and was detained on August 30, 2022, with his friend Kirill Brik. (Kirill Brik signed a pre-trial agreement with the investigation, so the support team does not pay for his lawyer's services).

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.