“Are you probably some kind of political?”: Interview with the defendant of “Case March 26”

A year ago, Dmitry Borisov lived in Moscow, led the hotel business and periodically went to the opposition. On March 26, 2017, he was detained at an anti -corruption rally, and then accused of applying force to the policeman. The court appointed Borisov a year of a general regime. On June 7, 2018, he was released and told the OVD-Info about violence in jail, a transition to a “free” language and evenings with a Chifir circle.

How did you imagine life in the pre -trial detention center before, and what was it in the end?

- For me, it did not become a big shock that I was planted at all. When I was taken away, 14-15 police officers arrived with the Investigative Committee and immediately made it clear that things should be taken with you. I immediately realized that they decided to get even with me.

Neither people nor the situation in jail also shocked me in jail. On Petrovka, 38 times I managed to transfer me three times from one camera into another in two days, so people came across different. Someone was completely adequate, and someone has already passed the seventh “walnut”. There were also interesting people: those prisoners who, as a rule, are very intellectually developed with economic articles.

Of course, there were a lot of prison guests and traditions, but you quickly get used to them. For example, when people are met or escorted, the whole camera is gathering along with a chiffir circle. This does not affect health, everyone gets two sips. All small celebrations are also marked with a circle of chifir. It even brings something human to jail.

There was a lot of jargon too. I still have many words from there, I still can’t switch to a “free” language.

And how did you feel about the pre -trial detention center?

- Fine. In Belgorod (in May 2018, Borisov was transferred from the Moscow pre-trial detention center No. 2 “Butyrka” in pre-trial detention center No. 3 of the Belgorod region- OTD-info ), even respectful attitude was. There, the employees saw a bunch of letters and immediately asked: “Are you probably some kind of political?” In general, for some reason, I am sure that this affected their attitude towards me, with other prisoners they behaved worse. If I just got to them according to the 318th article, then I think I would not even have time to explain anything to them. Could beat and beat.

At the “assembly” (the camera where they put before different procedures during the design- OVD-info ) was a twenty-year-old guy. According to the 228th article-something about drugs. Such a dandelion of God, completely small. We at the “assembly” lit up everything. This is such an unspoken law of prisoners - to smoke. Because my stage, for example, lasted more than a day. You won’t get enough sleep on the train, and at least you need to smoke, at least you need to do some respite. No, after all, some policeman flew flew up, grabbed this guy (apparently, he took the smallest), led him out of the “assembly” and began to beat. We heard his screams, and the policeman also yelled at this guy: “We told you that you can’t smoke!” The guy was thrown back, grabbed one more - a healthy, pumped -up fighter. They took it somewhere, and we heard screams again. Then they heard the stun gunners. In total, there were 19 people, and three disappeared somewhere, we no longer saw them. Including this fighter.

Of course, this causes disgust. You are kind of like a person, but for some reason they begin to handle you with cattle. For some reason, the fifth “Central”, pre-trial detention center (“Water” -OVD-info ) I mean, in the “Butyrki” it is possible to find a common language with prisoners. You can also agree humanly. You can simply say: "Guys, we don’t smoke here at all, here at all." And that’s all, the prisoners understand this.

Did someone put pressure on you personally?

- No, honestly, no one pressed me. And even in Belgorod I was put in a cell for two people, but I was sitting alone. Apparently, they were scared that I had such a resonant matter.

But they followed me intently: all cameras are equipped with video cameras. You can say something through them or just send a signal. Sometimes I wanted to go to the window and answer something to another prisoner, alone. I only moved to the window, immediately the signal: "Biiyip!"

And in general, everything was strictly. You leave the camera, you immediately: “Hands behind your back! Turn! Hands on the wall! " When they searched: “Hands behind your back! He went away! " I think that I would have sat there for six months - even after leaving the pre -trial detention center I would have got up to the right of each door with my hands before entering. Probably all this is done to suppress a person. But he is already suppressed. The deadline and so presses on you pretty well.

The difference between Moscow investigative insulators and Belgorod is strongly felt?

- Yes, this is not in Moscow. I don’t know what this is connected with. Perhaps Moscow prisoners have already defended their rights. The human factor also plays a role. And, of course, social activists, human rights activists-Moscow is still more accessible to them.

How did the investigators develop relations?

- They were, let's say, correct. But what this investigator [Alexander] Uranov, who was planting “Bolotnikov” is doing ... I saw in his office a printout with eight, in my opinion, “swamps” and their photographs, and the dates were signed on the sheet-from a smaller to more. And this poster hung in his office as a subject of pride. I also understand when they make their dirty deeds to earn stars and shoulder straps, but be proud ... Do they really not understand what they are doing?

My business received some kind of response in the media, and he immediately climbed to the Internet to look for where he was mentioned. And he looked at this with such a vanity: Uranov planted one more.

I talked with another investigator. I told him: “Do you think you are doing the right thing? You take an innocent person and arrange all these nervouses to him. ” And he replies: "Listen, well, you beat him." That is, he caught on this information that I allegedly beat a riot police, although I did not even touch him.

Did you feel, being in a pre -trial detention center that they write about you and talk about you?

- Yes, sure. Support is very important. Friends, human rights activists came to my courts. Take at least even T-shirts with my portrait-it still somehow inspires. You just come to court and immediately see what they think of you. And letters. In the letters, they gave me words of support, wrote that even some promotions were held.

It seems to me that support played a role in court itself. I fully admit that I could give me a year and a half, and two, because there were long terms for the same accusations (the other person involved in the “case of March 26”, Stanislav Zimov, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment- ATS-Info ). I was helped by support and lawyers, of course. Ilya Novikov and Nikolai Fomin performed very professionally and very brightly. I think the judge had some flexibility there, he could give it from a year to two years. I do not think that he was independent in his decisions, so he gave, probably, the smaller of what he was allowed.

Nikolai Fomin and I even wanted to make a bet before the sentence about how much they would give me. He says: "A year and a half." I also thought that a year and a half, so the bet did not work out.

What are you going to do free?

- I participated in the family business to prison, and I will not change anything in terms of profession. In terms of social activity ... I do not know yet. I still want to relax a little, getting together with my thoughts, understand what needs to be done, what is not necessary. I will probably act the same way as before landing. There are some events, and, as before, I will simply react or not react to them, succumbing to the natural impulse.

Do you have the feeling that for some reason you had to go through all this?

-For some reason, often people in prison are looking for some secret meaning, constantly trying to find an explanation of what they sat. I'm not sure that this is true. It seems to me that people generally have the ability to look for meaning in everything, in Wikipedia this phenomenon is even somehow explained.

I can’t say that the year of prison gave me something incredible. Purely humanly, I probably grew up, I understood something in communication. Still, you constantly communicate with a large number of people of different nationalities, different religions. In principle, if we gathered a large company and lived together for a year, I would have adopted something and learn something.

But the main effect is the desire to appreciate what is free. It is understandable, everything is known in comparison. There is no such that I radically change my worldview. And I do not regret anything, I do not repent. I still think that I am innocent.