Crimean prisoner Afanasyev spoke about torture after abduction

The Crimean prisoner Gennady Afanasyev, sentenced in a special manner by seven years of strict regime, during a new meeting with lawyer Alexander Popkov spoke about the torture that he was subjected to by the security forces from the FSB. As the correspondent of the Grani reports, after the meeting on Wednesday, Popkov came to the building of the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, where the process of two other Crimean prisoners-Oleg Sentsov and Alexander Kolchenko, was going on, and decided the message of his principal.

Afanasyev was kidnapped on May 9, 2014 in Simferopol, when he went to the parade in honor of the anniversary of the victory over Germany, put it in the car and began to carry it around the city, beating and demanding that Sentsov, as well as other persons whose names, however, did not remember.

Then the security forces, putting on the bag to Afanasyev on their heads, brought him home and laid it on the floor, and they set up a search. Among other things, they carried out expensive cameras from the house. At the same time, there were no protocols, and attempts to find out the fate of their property, undertaken by political prisoners later, did not give a result.

Afanasyev was taken from the house to the Crimean head of the SBU, where after the annexation of the Crimea there was the Office of the Russian Special Service. There, the senior investigator for particularly important cases of the FSB investigative department, Major of Justice, Artem Burdin (he also conducted the affairs of Sentsov and Kolchenko), demanded that Afanasyev admit from the preparation of explosions in Simferopol at the monument to Lenin and at eternal fire. Both episodes were originally present in the Sentsov case, but by the time of approval of the indictment, the episode with eternal flame was excluded from the case.

In an interview with Popkov, Afanasyev emphasized that he had no idea about one or another action. He told Bourdin. Then the abducted was taken out above and in the presence of the investigator was subjected to torture.

As the political prisoner said, he was beaten, and they beat him on the head with gloves so as not to leave traces. In addition, he was put on a gas mask on his head and a hose was clamped. One time, having unclenched the hose, the security forces somehow poured water there, and Afanasyev, after he inhaled, began to tear directly into the hose. Finally, the operatives applied the stolen torture to the stolen torture, and the wires were attached, including to the genitals.

After that, Afanasyev agreed to testify both to himself and for Sentsov. At the same time, evidence of real events, the participant of which was political prisoner, was forced to falsify. In particular, he told the investigation that during the annexation of the region he delivered products to the Ukrainian military into military units. Burdin, however, forced him to admit that he made these trips with Sentsov, and their goal was to acquire weapons.

In fact, Popkov noted, Afanasyev recognizes his participation only in the arsons of the headquarters of the “Russian community of Crimea” and “United Russia” in Simferopol, which occurred, respectively, on April 14 and 18, 2014. “He believes that this is a Nazi organization that beat pro -Ukrainian activists, abducted these people,” the lawyer retold the opinion of his principal about the “Russian community of Crimea”.

At the same time, the political prisoner disagrees with the qualification of arson as terrorist acts, saying that he acted from hooligan motives.

After delivery to the Moscow pre -trial detention center, Lefortovo also told Afanasyev, torture and beatings stopped. At the same time, he noticed that in the capital of Russia he met the same operatives who mocked him in the Crimea.

In Rostov-on-Don, to testify at the Sentsov and Kolchenko, political prisoners were brought on July 24. Three days later, the 27th, with Afanasyev, a Moscow operative named Alexander, who was present at his torture in Simferopol, spoke with Afanasyev. He demanded that the convicted person repeat the testimony given at the investigation in court. “If you refuse, then you will go to the North Pole to the white bears, and your mother can accidentally get into an accident,” Popkov quoted from the words of Afanasyev’s replica.

On July 30, when Afanasyev was delivered to the North Caucasus Military Council for the first time, a local FSB officer, who said that he was "instead of Alexander", spoke with a political prisoner in a convoy. He demanded that Afanasyev abandon the court to testify, referring to Article 51 of the Russian Constitution so that the lawyers of the defendants could not ask him questions. (That is how the Crimean prisoner who went to the pre -trial agreement entered the court that day, - Alexei Chirniy.) Silovik added that such behavior was agreed with the judge.

When Afanasyev refused a lawyer on the same day, the same FSB officer came to him in a pre -trial detention center, praised him for this step and reminded the data earlier. “Tomorrow you have the most important day in life, you need to fulfill the pre -trial agreement,” Popkov retold the meaning of the replica of the security forces.

The lawyer noted that at the investigation stage, special services promised Afanasyev a period of five to seven years with subsequent parole or pardon in two years.

When Afanasyev refused his testimony on Sentsov and Kolchenko on July 31, the same employee of the Rostov UFSB stated that now the political prisoner had only one opportunity to correct the situation - to make a statement that he refused to testify the lawyers Sentsov and Kolchenko.

However, the convict refused to fulfill the requirement. “He realized that he couldn’t live with this later, it would be difficult for him to look people in the eyes,” Popkov explained the motives of his principal.

The lawyer also added that violence was not applied after refusing to testify to Afanasyev.

Journalists asked Popkov the question of the reasons for the refusal of Afanasyev of Ukrainian citizenship. The lawyer said that the FSB officers told the political prisoner that in connection with the annexation of Crimea, he was a citizen of Russia, and he, having thought out, decided to agree with this. Crimea de facto is part of Russia, Popkov explained the logic of his principal, and Afanasyev is still gathering to live in this region.

In connection with the refusal of testimony, the lawyerfirst reported the threats of Afanasyev by the FSB on Monday . Political prisoner "very intimidated" and "fears everything", then the lawyer said.