A Russian court has issued harsh sentences to seven antifascist and anarchist activists in a controversial domestic terrorism case marred by claims that investigators tortured the defendants to elicit confessions.
We must not forget the anarchists and anti-fascists suffering repression in Russia! We are calling for people to take action of all forms to express support for these prisoners, to protest the prison system, and to spread information about the use of torture as an instrument of repression in Russia.
The Moscow Anarchist Black Cross group is supporting the declaration released by the Rupression-campaign about Arman Sagynbaev, prisoner of the so-called Network case, and will stop supporting him.
On 27th July, my friend Vladislav Barabanov took part in the rally for fair elections and permission of the independent candidates in Moscow. He was one of 1,500 detainees at this action and one of 13 people accused of criminal offense.
"Article 212 case " or "the Moscow case" is another example of lawlessness in Russia's everyday life. We wish to tell the whole world of people dear to us getting battered and imprisoned for their active citizenship.
Help Vlad and 13 other accused guys by publicity, share the video below (English subtitles available).
In Moscow, at the end of August 10, plainclothes police officers arrested the anarchist Alexei Polikhovich on his way home from Russia’s largest opposition demonstration since 2011. A local Moscow court formally charged Alexei with “petty hooliganism” and sentenced him to 13 days in jail.
Lawyers for Viktor Filinkov and Yuly Boyarshinov, two of the defendants in the “network case”, are now preparing for their trial. The defendants in the case are Russian anti-fascists who were arrested – and tortured by security services officers – in St Petersburg and Penza last year. They are accused of a so-called terrorist plot – a prosecution denounced by Russian human rights organisations as a frame-up.
We are Antifa Bulgaria/Антифа България and we would like to show our solidarity with our Russian comrades, who are facing these unbelievable mass repressions. We did an action in front of the Russian embassy today, 15th of March - the International Day against Police Brutality. We were immediately approached by the Gendarmerie, who were guarding the embassy and subjected to an identity check.
We chose our big banner to be "FSB - THE MAIN TERRORIST", since comrades in Chelyabinsk were facing charges for the same text on their banner.
On February 1, 2019, officers of the FSB, the Russian state security apparatus descended from the KGB, arrested a dozen people in the latest wave of their campaign of repression against accused anarchists throughout the country. After brutally torturing them over the following 24 hours in order to force them to agree to incriminating statements, they released 11 of them.
Dmitry Pchelintsev and Andrei Chernov, residents of Penza and suspects in the so-called Network case, have gone on hunger strike, claiming remand prison officials and FSB officers have intimidated them during their review of their criminal case file, something to which they are entitled by Russian law. Several Penza suspects in the case have claimed they have been put in solitary confinement, handcuffed to radiators, and threatened with violance.
In February 2018, a campaign was launched in Russia to support those accused in the Network case. Among the main goals of the campaign were fundraising for legal costs, organizing humanitarian support for the arrested and offering support to their relatives. The resources gathered have so far been distributed according to the financial circumstances of the respective families and the needs of the arrested.
Antifascist and anarchist Arman Sagynbayev, who was arrested and remanded in custody as part of the Penza-Petersburg “terrorism” case, had until recently admitted his guilt. On September 4, he withdrew his confession, explaining that initially he had been tortured into testifying against himself and other young men arrested in the case, and then had been afraid to go against case investigators.
A new defendant has been added to the case of the so-called Network, Petersburger Yuli Boyarshinov. In the following article, OVD Info reports what it knows about how Mr. Boyarshinov was charged in the case, and about the pressure put on him in the remand prison where he is currently jailed.
Russian Activist Ilya Kapustin, Seeking Asylum in Finland: “When the Stamp Thudded in My Passport, It Was Like a Huge Weight Had Been Lifted from My Shoulders”
Nina Järvenkylä Iltalehti
March 10, 2018
A familiar looking man sits opposite me. We have met earlier via video link, but now there are coffee cups between us.
A call of comrades from Chelyabinsk:
«We, Chelyabinsk anarchists, need international support and solidarity.
On the night of 20 February, Chelyabinsk anarchists were arrested and their homes searched in relation to the banner put on the Chelyabinsk FSB (Russian security service) building. Five persons were arrested, the homes of three of them were searched, three people became suspects under Article 213 part 1 of the Russian criminal code (Hooliganism). During the investigation, FSB officers freely tortured the detained, including the witnesses.
March 18 – act in solidarity with Russian anarchists!
Moscow Anarchist Black Cross released the review of repression of anarchists by Russian state in 2017 and early 2018. During this period, the authorities continue to frame and persecute the Russian comrades. Anarchists are also a subject of repressions in prisons. Here is the extract of recently published list of repression in Russia.
On 24 January 2018, I was tortured by the FSB into confessing to terrorism charges. Here is what happened.
“He Would Check My Pulse by Touching My Neck and Monitor My Condition.” Arrested Penza Antifascists Talk about Electric Shock Torture in Remand Prison Basement.
A Statement by the Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union
In the early hours of January 31st, Russian security services stormed the apartment of @Pavel Nikulin, a co-chair of the Journalists' and Media Workers' Union. We can assume that Pavel’s apartment was searched in connection with an article he wrote for the New Times magazine in March 2017. The article, titled “From Kaluga With Jihad," was removed from the magazine's website after a court found it was "publicly justifying terrorism."
“They Said They Could Break My Legs and Dump Me in the Woods.” Petersburger Ilya Kapustin Recounts How FSB Officers Tortured Him
Yegor SkovorodaMediazona
January 27, 2018
Traces of handcuffs on Ilya Kapustin’s hands. Photo courtesy of his attorney and Mediazona
Near the sacred Mount Parnassus and the ruins of Delphi there is a small town of Levadia. Will of fate I was fortunate enough prove to be in this place and get acquainted with the local fan scene. As soon as you come here at once there a positive mood. Railway station painted with anti-fascist...
In February, a critique of Moscow-based bands What We Feel(WWF) and Moscow Death Brigade(MDB) written by “Antifascist Subculture Worldwide”-collective appeared on the German website, Linksunten (in English). Both WWF, MDB (1) as well as 210 (2) have since responded to the...
