"This is a Chechnya who came to Peter"

In St. Petersburg, FSB officers search and interrogate anti -fascists and anarchists. Activists declare the abductions and torture, to be forced to confess to the "anarchist terrorist organizations."

It is known about the detentions of at least three activists: Viktor Filinkov, Igor Shishkin and Ilya Kapustin. Shishkin and Kapustin were released after interrogation, and Filinkov was arrested for two months. All three announced beatings and torture. The detentions occur with the sanction of one of the Penza courts, where the case of the creation of a terrorist community is being considered. Viktor Filinkov told his lawyer that they demanded that him testify that he was supposedly a participant in the department of this organization in St. Petersburg. The publication "OTD-Info" connects the Penza business and the detention in St. Petersburg with the persecution of supporters of Vyacheslav Maltsev.

Vyacheslav Maltsev in a column of nationalists in May 2017

The lawyer of the Agora International Human Rights Group Vitaly Cherkasov , who defends 23-year-old Viktor Filinkov, who disappeared on the night of January 23 to 24 and then found in pre-trial detention center No. 3, says that the FSB officers tortured his ward for several hours, knocking down recognition in involvement in a terrorist organization.

- First of all, it is surprising that these people used to try to hide traces of their illegal actions, but here they act openly and are not afraid of anything. Usually, in such grave cases, they try to pickle lawyers as long as possible, not letting them to the arrested, and here, as soon as we found that Viktor Filinkov is in the so -called Ephesians of the SIZO No. 3, I was immediately allowed there, despite the fact that I came there already at the end of the day, 20 minutes before the closure. Filinkov disappeared on January 23, his wife called me on the 24th, at that moment I went to Vologda to the court. Filinkov’s wife is in Kyiv, she said that on January 23, Victor had to fly to her, but the connection with him disappeared after he arrived at Pulkovo Airport. She said that recently many of their acquaintances have been detained in connection with the case, excited in Penza, where the authorities allegedly opened a certain large terrorist organization, which has branches in other cities, including in St. Petersburg. According to the wife of Filinkov, she and her husband were afraid that they could also touch them - and their fears came true. I consulted it-said that in this situation it is necessary to attract public attention to this matter as soon as possible, contact the media, because in such a situation it often happens that a person is first lost, and after some time he is demolished under the video cameras. But then it turns out that at the time when he remained outside the field of vision and friends, he was in some incomprehensible place and physical pressure was on him. Therefore, here it is necessary to make noise immediately, to show that his loss is known, because the longer he is unknown where, the more this will then throw the shadow at the special services, who still need to legalize it.

When I asked him to demonstrate traces of torture, I was horrified: he has on his body, especially on his right thigh - numerous spots from burns from a stuncher, probably more than 50

On the 24th, Viktor Filinkov’s wife, on my advice, turned to the OVD-Info and other media, and on January 25, from the joint release of the vessels of St. Petersburg, it became known that the Dzerzhinsky District Court chose him a preventive measure for 2 months and that he was suspected of committing a crime under part 2 of article 205.4. I returned from Vologda and running to pre -trial detention center No. 3, and it was Friday, a shortened day, but I managed to go to him 20 minutes before the end of the appointment of the dates. We talked about everything promptly. The guy was no - drooping, with an extinct look, trembling voice. He immediately told me that he was tortured. I am an experienced person, over 13 years of human rights work I have about 20 criminal cases behind me, on which fifty police officers passed, who used torture and torture and were convicted for this. But when I asked him to demonstrate traces of torture, I was horrified: on his body, especially on his right thigh, numerous spots from burns from the electric shocker, probably, are more than 50. He said that the FSB officers detained him before landing in Kyiv, they drove him all day on different institutions and, finally, took him out of town, where there were several left-offs, where there were several left-offs with him. Man: half of the people of an awesome look, in masks, half in civilian clothes - apparently opera. They began to exert psychological pressure on him, demanding something to tell. When he asked what they wanted from him, they stated him a legend of a certain terrorist network and her branch in St. Petersburg called “Marse Field”, which he allegedly enters. They called the names of other members of this organization, whom he did not know at all. Then they put him in the car and began to torture - beat him and cauterized by a stamper, which is why he was bending back in pain, and they, on the contrary, were bending to the back of the front seat, which made his wound on his chin, the blood even stained his clothes. Then they “fixed” the legend with him for a long time - he had to learn all the names in order to confirm all this to the investigator. And when he was brought to the investigative insulator, none of his attendants, as expected, was examined - there is no information about the resulting bodily harm in the documents, but they have very serious ones. He was given a lawyer for their intended purpose, we discussed the situation and came to the conclusion that the lawyer needs to be changed, now Victor must write a statement to the investigator that he refuses his services in my favor. Now I am preparing a statement to both the prosecutor's office, overseeing the FSB, and to the FSIN, so as soon as possible to conduct his examination with my participation, record all the bodily harm that he received. After me, two girls came to him - members of the St. Petersburg PMC ( public observation commission. - RS ) Ekaterina Kosarevskaya and Yana Teplitskaya, they also saw all his bodily harm. Both mine and their conversation with Viktor Filinkov took place under stationary video surveillance cameras, and in addition, during the conversation, an employee was present with a video recording on her chest. Again, I made a request so that these records are urgently seized and preserved - there he takes off his trousers and shows the thigh, dotted with traces of a stamper shocker.

Vitaly Cherkasov

Victor is a citizen of Kazakhstan, and we have already sent requests to the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Moscow and to the Consulate General in St. Petersburg. I also found a lawyer for its intended purpose, now I need to understand what is his role in the testimony that Filinkov gave. The fact is that very often such lawyers, found by investigators, “merge” their clients, and it is in their presence that people give those indications that later form the basis of the charges. And then you can refuse them, but the court still relies on these initial indications. It turns out that my client was really forced to give the testimony that they demanded from him, and now we need to find out how to confront this. In general, first of all, I need to access the case, to its materials that appeared in the presence of this lawyer. And most importantly, the investigator does not run from me: practice shows that investigators very often disappear, and without them you will not get to the client, any power unit is under all castles.

- Was Victor Filinkov in St. Petersburg alone detained in this case?

- No, a certain Igor Shishkin was still detained in 1991, or rather, he simply disappeared, his interests will also be represented by the lawyer of Agora - Dmitry Dinze. Shishkin had the same circumstances of the detention and disappearance - his relatives could not find him for a long time, and when they found it, it turned out that he was also delivered to the Dzerzhinsky District Court with bodily injuries. I suspect that he was broken in the same way. And there is Ilya Kapustin, Mediazona writes that he was taken on January 25, and gives his story about torture by a stamper, that he was asked about the Penza anarchists, although Ilya was not in Penza at all. Apparently, nevertheless, they did not consider it necessary to arrest him and let go, but numerous damage remained on his body. He told reporters that he is undergoing a medical examination now and is looking for lawyers to defend his interests. That is, it turns out that the FSB does not even hide anything, does not hold these people in some place so that traces of torture are descended, are not afraid that they are convicted of official crimes. It seems that all these employees have a carte blanche: do what you want, create the visibility of the work, form a loud business, and everything will get away with you. As if the go -ahead is given: rivet what it turns out, we will cover you, ”says Vitaly Cherkasov.

Member of the St. Petersburg PMC Ekaterina Kosarevskaya confirms what Vitaly Cherkasov said about bodily harm at Victor Filinkov.

What was with him will seem to him a fairy tale, a light version of what will happen to him

- We visited Victor three times. The first time we came to him in the evening of the day when the court was suppressed. He had not yet spoke with any lawyer, except for the lawyer for their intended purpose, and still did not want to admit the injuries received. We could not find him for two days, and when we found it, he was just after talking with the security forces, and I assume that he just had not yet come to his senses. During our next visit, he was already ready to talk and showed us traces of a stamper-these are many, many red dots from the outside of the thigh at a distance of about a centimeter from each other and a few more on his chest. He said that there are the same traces in the inguinal region, but we did not see them. The first time he was very depressed, but now - there is no comparison, it is in much better shape. We recorded the story he told, and he did not look frightened and depressed at all. He told us that after torture he was brought to the building of the district department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he dictated that he was forced to learn the FSB investigators. According to him, then, after they wrote an explanation from his words, and he put his signature, he was taken to the FSB Office on Litein and everything was printed there again - it is not clear then why they forced him to teach him all, if they did not use it later. And in court, he confirmed these testimonies, because he was told that if he refuses them, he would be bad to his relatives, and what was with him himself will seem to him a fairy tale, a light version of what would happen to him. We do not know if he only stipulated himself in this way or someone else.

The members of the St. Petersburg PMC recorded the story of Viktor Filinkov and consent to the publication for his signature. They posted this story on the PMC website, handed it to Vitaly Cherkasov and wrote a statement to the prosecutor's office.

One of the first about the searches in the apartments of the anti -fascists and anarchists was announced human rights activist Alexander Krylenkov , writing about this on her Facebook page.

- Alexandra, what do you think of this new reality, including, apparently, not only arrests, but also abduction, torture, and the emergence of dubious criminal cases of terrorism?

Took up the anarchists, who is next - it is unknown

- Two people are arrested in St. Petersburg, searches are undergoing, and not all of them fall into our field of view, because people disappear, then appear in court with grateful testimony - as is known on the occasion of Viktor Filinkov received under torture. No one knows why the FSB this time decided to take up the anarchists - they used to take Muslims in St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg. Now they took up the anarchists, who was next - it is unknown.

- Do you think this is a common practice or an exceptional case for today?

-I think, after all, an exceptional case, both in form and content-in any case, in court words were heard about accusations of preparing to overthrow the president, which in itself sounds madly. But the most important thing is in form: people are grabbed both at home, on the street, and at the airport, then no one can find them, despite all the efforts of human rights activists and the public, and then they appear in court with grateful testimonies and, as the Agora lawyer reports, with bodily injuries. In fact, this is a Chechnya who came to Peter. We are used to the fact that we have special territories, where everything is different, where everything can be - well, now we have it all right here. I can compare what is happening to Chechnya and Crimea. People also disappear in Crimea, but honestly they say that they were informed about torture in 2014, in 2015, and recently there were no such messages. That is, in Crimea now the FSB does not work in such ways, ”said Alexandra Krylenkova.