The mother of one of the defendants in the Penza case said that the investigator forced her to give an interview to NTV

Elena Bogatova, the mother of Ilya Shakursky's defendant in the Penza case, said that the investigator offered her to give an interview to the NTV channel, promising that her son would "be credited in court." This was reported to Mediazona by the Parents' Network Committee, created by the relatives of the accused in the Penza case.

Bogatova said the interview was offered on April 10. According to her, the investigator demanded that NTV be told that her son was indeed a member of the Set terrorist group and not mention that the defendants had played airsoft together.

According to Parental Network, NTV employees, accompanied by an FSB operative, conducted interviews at Bogatova's house; shooting lasted until 23 hours (their date is not reported). “They ask leading questions, but I can’t figure out how to answer normally…. I swore and cried, but what they recorded there - I don’t know .... They chose the weakest, ”Bogatova believes.

She approached the Parents' Network with a request to publish her story and circulate a demand not to show the interview. “If something happens to me or Ilya, then those people who have my son in their hands and who put pressure on both him and me will be to blame,” Bogatova said.

• "Penza" is the name of the criminal case on terrorism, initiated against left-wing activists from Penza and St. Petersburg. The FSB claims that they were members of the terrorist organization Set and planned terrorist attacks during the presidential elections and the 2018 World Cup. As preparation for the terrorist attacks, the investigation regarded, among other things, the passion of the accused for airsoft.
• Ilya Shakursky was detained among the first defendants in the “Penza case” in October 2017. Initially, he made a confession, but later stated that they were obtained under duress; according to Shakursky, he was beaten and tortured with electric current in the pre-trial detention center. Some other defendants also claimed torture.