Russian prison guard's relatives sue the journalists and human rights lawyers who outed the torture of an inmate

The relatives of one of the guards who appears in footage of inmate Evgeny Makarov being tortured at a prison in Yaroslavl are reportedly pressing charges against the newspaper Novaya Gazeta and the human rights organization “Public Verdict.”

According to the lawsuit, their relative “was allegedly training at the prison facility, and though he was actually present at the ‘educational work’ class when they tortured Makarov, he didn’t participate in the event.”

On June 20, the newspaper Novaya Gazeta published a 10-minute video showing prison guards brutally torturing an inmate named Evgeny Makarov. The journalists got the footage from Makarov’s lawyer, Irina Biryukova. Three days later, the media discovered that she had fled the country, after learning of threats against her. (Read Meduza's interview with her here.)

Warning! The following footage contains disturbing scenes of violence. Viewer discretion is advised.

Federal Penitentiary Service deputy head Alexander Rudyi told the news agency Interfax on Monday that Makarov “committed 136 violations while in prison” and tried to “provoke” the guards. Rudyi added that prison officials nevertheless should not have tortured Makarov. “Our staff didn’t handle their duties entirely,” he admitted.