Anatoly Berezikov, 40, an activist, has died in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don in a jail for minor offenders, OVD-Info cites Berezikov’s lawyer Irina Gak.
She says Berezikov had stun gun bruises the day before. As she arrived at the jail on 14 June, she was told that the activist was not there, but saw an ambulance outside and her client’s body being carried inside of it.
Gak says Berezikov had his house examined on 10 May, which in fact was a search but without the necessary papers. According to the activist, on that day he had his ribs broken before the court sent him to jail for 10 days for failing to obey a police officer (a minor offence).
As Berezikov was preparing to be released on 21 May, he was sent to jail again for petty hooliganism. The activist reported that police officers took him out of town before the court session where they tortured him with a stun gun, trying to force him to waive his right to counsel.
Berezikov was sent to jail for the third time on 31 May for 15 days for petty hooliganism again. He was scheduled to be released today, 15 June.
OVD-Info believes Berezikov used to placard posters by I Want to Live, a Ukrainian project that helps Russian servicemen to yield themselves captives, around the city, which could have provoked the persecution. Gak says that each time she was allowed to see her client, he would report being pressured by the police, including threats to send him to war.
OVD-Info managed to reach the jail in question on the phone and were told that the activist had committed suicide. The Pervy Otdel project reports that a criminal case on account of treason was about to be initiated against Berezikov.
In 2022, the Krasnodar region was one of Russia’s top 10 regions with most cases of police torture. Last year, 10 out of 10 criminal cases on abusing rank with the use of violence ended with a guilty verdict in the region.
