Russia drops criminal case against prison torture whistleblower Sergey Savelyev

Russian prosecutors have terminated the criminal case against former inmate and whistleblower Sergey Savelyev, reports the human rights group Gulagu.net.

Charges were brought against Savelyev for “illegally accessing computer information” after he came forward as the whistleblower who leaked an “archive” of footage and documents evidencing torture in the Russian prison system.

Savelyev, who served a nine-year prison sentence in Russia for illegal narcotics trafficking, began secretly collected the videos after prison staff gave him a job logging surveillance camera footage. He leaked this “archive” to Gulagu.net upon his release from prison, and identified himself after fleeing Russia and seeking asylum in France.

A Russian court authorized his arrest in absentia in late October. Reportedly, his name was put on an international wanted list.

• Gulagu.net began releasing the footage Savelyev leaked in early October, publishing three video clips showing the torture and rape of inmates at the penitentiary service’s Tuberculosis Hospital No. 1 in the Saratov region. The hospital’s leadership was fired and investigators opened several criminal cases on charges of sexual assault and abuse of power.
• Gulagu.net released more footage evidencing torture at the Saratov prison hospital on November 9, after which the Saratov department of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) fired 18 of its employees. The rights group’s founder, Vladimir Osechkin, has promised to release more videos and documents in the coming days that contain the surnames of penitentiary service staff involved in torturing inmates.