Russia’s Investigative Committee begins probe into poet Kamardin and his friends being abused by police

Russia’s Investigative Committee has started a review of the “potential abuse of power” committed by law enforcement agents during a search in the flat shared by poet Artem Kamardin and activists Alexander Menyukov and Alexandra Popova, human rights project Axioma reports.

The pre-investigation examination is being conducted by Moscow detectives under the Criminal Code article on abuse of power through use of violence, threat of its use, use of weapons or special means, lawyer Leonid Solovyev explains to Novaya-Europe.

The search of the flat in which the activists had been present took place on 26 September. The entire process was formally referred to as “room inspection” but in practice was a flat search, the lawyer adds.

On 26 September, Moscow police agents broke into the flat of activists Kamardin, Menyukov, and Popova. The policemen did not let lawyer Leonid Solovyev into the flat due to them allegedly conducting a surveillance activity “room inspection” inside. Popova, activist and Kamardin’s girlfriend, subsequently said that police agents had beaten Kamardin severely and put a dumbbell in his anal opening. The rape was recorded on video and shown to Popova. The policemen also used superglue to put stickers on Popova’s face, tried to glue her mouth shut, pulled out her hair, and threatened her, saying that five of them would rape her. Menyukov was beaten by police agents — doctors documented him having multiple contusions.

Afterwards, Kamardin was made to apologise on video for previously saying “Glory to Kievan Rus, Novorossiya — suck dick” (or New Russia, this is how the Russian propaganda refers to Ukraine’s southern and eastern regions — translator’s note) during an event known as Mayakovsky poetry readings.

On 28 September, Moscow’s Tversky District Court sent Nikolay Dayneko, Artem Kamardin, and Egor Shtovba to a pre-trial detention centre for having taken part in the Mayakovsky poetry readings on 25 September. Linguistic examination found that their performances during the readings contained “signs of humiliating militia fighters who participated in combat in LPR and DPR [the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk ‘people’s republics’]”. They were charged with “incitement of hatred”.

In November, Kamardin was sent to the Serbsky Centre of Forensic Psychiatry for a month-long mandatory psychiatric assessment.