Lawyer speaks of torture
Anti-war activist dies in Russian prison
06/15/2023 8:54 p.m
For weeks, the lawyer for the imprisoned Russian anti-war activist Anatoly Beresikov has been reporting on the abuse and torture he is said to be subjected to in prison. One day before his planned release, the 40-year-old dies behind bars.
A Russian anti-war activist has died in custody after alleged abuse, according to his lawyer. 40-year-old Anatoly Berezikov was due to be released from a prison in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don today, Thursday, lawyer Irina Gak said in a video taken on Wednesday Video on Facebook with. When she wanted to visit her client in prison on Wednesday, she was told that his body would be picked up.
Her client told her he was being beaten, electrocuted and feared for his life, the attorney said. Gak also published a photo, which is supposed to show the traces of electroshock use on Berezikow’s body. The lawyer could not initially be reached by telephone for further information, and her account could not be independently verified.
According to the lawyer, Berezikov was arrested on May 10. Before the arrest, his home was searched by the police. He was taken to a forest and tortured there. According to the lawyer, his ribs were “probably” broken.
Detention center speaks of alleged suicide
The detention center said it did not release any information about Berezikoff. The human rights organization OVD-Info, citing an unnamed representative of the prison, said that Berezikow had killed himself in his cell. However, according to the NGO, the 40-year-old had previously claimed he was not considering suicide. On the contrary, he was afraid of being killed in prison.
According to his lawyer, Berezikov had promoted a Ukrainian campaign to encourage Russian soldiers to volunteer. Berezikow put up leaflets of the project called “I want to live” in Rostov-on-Don. The metropolis is the capital of the southern Russian region of Rostov, which borders on Russian-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine.
According to OVD-Info, almost 20,000 people have been arrested in Russia for protesting against the Ukraine war. More than 580 were charged.