After illegal detention in a pre-trial detention center, a Cherepovets human rights activist reported torture

A month after being illegally detained in a pre-trial detention center, Cherepovets human rights activist, head of the Vologda branch of the movement “For Human Rights,” Grigory Winter, was released and reported the torture and beatings he suffered in the detention center. He spoke about this in an interview with Activatika on February 16. On March 3, the results of a forensic examination confirmed the fact of beatings, Winter himself reported this.

Grigory Winter posted scans of the results of the forensic examination on his public page on Vkontakte. The examination was carried out six weeks after the beatings that occurred on the night of December 29-30, 2020.

According to Winter, he was kicked by employees on duty shift. They also used stun guns and choked him, Winter said . A forensic examination confirmed the presence of a scar on the human rights activist’s left leg. According to the expert, the injury occurred as a result of a blow with a blunt object, more than ten days before the examination.

Gregory Winter was detained and taken to a pre-trial detention center on December 29, 2020. The preventive measure in his absence was changed by the Cherepovets City Court due to the fact that Winter did not appear at court hearings, although he was on sick leave, and according to him, he notified the court about this. A month later, the regional court overturned the decision of the city court, considering it unfounded and illegal.

Grigory Winter is accused of two articles: disseminating knowingly false information about circumstances posing a threat to the life and safety of citizens (Article 207.1 of the Criminal Code) and insulting government officials (Article 319 of the Criminal Code).

In the first case, we are talking about the fact that Winter allegedly posted messages on VKontakte that the leadership of the local administration of the Federal Penitentiary Service is transporting prisoners sick with coronavirus along with other prisoners and does not provide them with personal protective equipment.

The second case, about insulting a government official, is related to the search that FSB and Investigative Committee officers conducted at his home on May 6. Winter allegedly used “coarse obscene language,” which offended the security forces.

• This is not the first case against a human rights activist. In 2019, Grigory Winter was sentenced to 280 hours of correctional labor - he was found guilty of insulting the former mayor of Cherepovets Elena Avdeeva and the head of the city Margarita Guseva (Article 319 of the Criminal Code). The punishment was given for a post on Winter’s personal closed page on a social network, in which he talked about the deforestation of the Pulovsky forest and mentioned officials.
• In February 2019, Winter was sent for a compulsory medical examination as part of a criminal case for threatening a court secretary (Article 119 of the Criminal Code) - allegedly on October 15, 2018, he said that he would blow up the courthouse.
• In March 2018, Winter was attacked by an unknown person near his own home. The human rights activist was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs and swelling in his right eye. The attacker told Winter: “For the forest.” The human rights activist is confident that the attack was organized by local authorities because of his participation in saving the Pulovsky forest.