An anti-mobilization activist was shifted to the medical care centre in Moscow after he was apparently raped and abused by police. Local media outlets have shared the following information.
Police have raided the house of Artyom Kamardin and other anti-war activists filmed the reading poems critical of the Russian army of Mayakovsky Square on Sunday.
Russia has made criticized what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, published by fines or prison time.
As per reports, “Local officers beat up Kamardin very badly and stuck a dumbbell in his anus.”
His lawyer Leonid Solovyov confirmed that account to local media outlets, but said Kamardin was not in need of hospitlization.
Telegram channels, which are linked to Russian security services later shared videos of Kamardin and two other arrested apologizing for their actions on their knees.
Kamardin was charged with “inciting hatred”, a crime punishable by up to six years in prison.
As per video broadcast by the independent online news outlet Sota, early Tuesday showed the dishevelled Kamardin emerging out of a Moscow police station accompanied by ambulance workers. He did not comment on the alleged abuse.
According to reports, “Alexander Popova, another anti-war activist who was detained alongside Kamardi, was also beaten, had her face superglued and was threatened with gang rape.”
The incidents took place amid some of the biggest sustained protests since Russia invaded Ukraine, triggered by President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a “partial” mobilization last week.
Independent monitors say at least 2,000 protesters have been detained since last Wednesday. Flights out of Russia to available destinations have been sold out over the past week, while Russia’s land borders with neighbouring countries saw a surge in traffic in the past week.