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Darya Bagina, the partner of Izhevsk activist Dmitry Morozov, described his arrest in a post that was noted by RusNews.
“During the arrest, he was beaten, electroshocked on the face, ribs, and legs, and suspended upside down by the legs in handcuffs. Dmitry didn’t even see his torturers’ faces—a black bag taped with duct tape was put over his head. After prolonged torture, they kept kicking him,” Bagina wrote.
According to her, they tried to force Dmitry to confess to financing Ukraine and banned terrorist and extremist organisations.
“They failed—Dmitry has never been involved in anything like that,” the activist’s partner added.
She said that Morozov has bruised ribs, pain in his arms, has difficulty breathing, and shows signs of concussion. The marks from the beating on his face were seen by relatives, journalists and members of the public during the court hearing at which he was remanded in a pre-trial detention centre.
- Morozov was detained on the evening of 2 October, and brought home for a search at around seven in the morning the next day. According to Bagina, the security forces searched only two places and in one of them themselves produced a package containing mephedrone. This find became the basis for a criminal case for drug possession, under which Morozov faces up to ten years in prison (part 2, article 228 of the Criminal Code).
- During the search, Morozov’s father noticed scratches on his face and swollen hands. After that, the activist was taken away again, and for more than a day his relatives and lawyers were not told where he was, nor were lawyers allowed access to him.
- On 5 October, the Pervomaisky District Court of Izhevsk remanded Morozov in custody for two months.
- His family link his persecution to his activities following the State Duma elections. He sought to organise a rally in Izhevsk protesting election violations. The city administration refused to approve the event at the proposed site, but a court later ruled the refusal unlawful.