Rostov Governor Calls People Who Wrote Comments About Hostage Taking in Pretrial Detention Center Provocateurs

Rostov Region Governor Vasily Golubev said that he had received information about the hostage-taking in the Rostov pretrial detention center “since the morning,” but did not comment on what was happening because he was waiting for the security forces to finish their work.

"Almost immediately, provocateurs with obvious anti-Russian sentiments and an attempt to stir up the interethnic issue began coming en masse to the Telegram channel with comments. Later, part of the Telegram community picked up on the topic and turned it into a flash mob," Golubev added.

Earlier, Telegram channels, in particular Baza, distributed videos in which local residents write comments in the governor's Telegram channel. A few seconds later, these comments were deleted and users were blocked. Soon, comments in Golubev's Telegram channel were completely disabled.

The hostage-taking in the pretrial detention center took place on the morning of June 16. Six prisoners took part in it; they took two FSIN employees hostage. At the same time, the Verstka publication discovered that Pretrial Detention Center No. 1 has repeatedly been overcrowded since at least 2015.

The publication notes that lawsuits were filed against the pretrial detention center for exceeding the number of prisoners held in the detention center. In connection with this, the head of the institution was issued representations several times - a document requiring the elimination of the causes and conditions of the violations.

One of the court rulings states that in the fall of 2023, the detention facility failed to comply with the rule that each detainee must have at least four square meters of living space.

Another lawsuit also claims that the number of detainees in cells designed for 8, 10 and 12 people is exceeded. Verstka notes that detainees in the Rostov pretrial detention center complained about the lack of exercise and the failure to provide toiletries.

Eva Merkacheva, a member of the Human Rights Council under the President of Russia, also wrote that SIZO-1 was overcrowded. According to her, there were more than 300 "extra" detainees in the detention center. In addition, as Merkacheva writes, there were 40 minors and several women in the detention center.

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