![]() On 7 and 8 November, Pavel Chikov and Igor Kalyapin visited Ildar Dadin at the Karelian prison colony No. 7 (Chikov is head of Agora International Human Rights Association; Kalyapin is head of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture). Dadin described the torture and beatings to which he had been subjected in prison to the two visitors and said that he had not previously experienced fits resembling epileptic seizures, such as the one which occurred during his 2 November meeting with members of the Public Oversight Commission. According to Pavel Chikov, Dadin’s arms bore marks from handcuffs. “Such marks can appear if a person’s hands are cuffed from behind, and he is then hung by the wrists. He said there were bruises and abrasions, but after two months they have gone away,” Chikov said. Chikov and Kalyapin did not meet the head of prison colony No. 7. “Typically when such an emergency situation occurs, the head officials return from leave or holidays. But here the head of the colony, Sergei Kossiyev, was placed on leave after the scandal erupted,” Igor Kalyapin said. RFE/RL reported that, according to Igor Kalyapin, Dadin refused to be transferred to a different facility out of concern for what would happen to other inmates (earlier Kalyapin had said Dadin should be moved to another penitentiary for his own safety). Igor Kalyapin was also reported as saying that despite promises made, the authorities refused to provide the visitors with documents concerning Dadin’s case and the punishments imposed on the political prisoner. ‘In particular, we were not given access to a report produced by the prison colony’s staff, or to written explanations submitted by Dadin,’ Kalyapin said. Igor Kalyapin and Pavel Chikov said that there had been protests by eight other prisoners, who were immediately transferred to prison colony No. 1, a maximum security prison in the town of Naidvoitsy, which is in the Segezha district of Karelia. They were unable to meet the protesters. On 9 November, three supporters of Ildar Dadin were detained by police in Moscow as they attempted to hold a protest outside the offices of the prosecutor general in Moscow, RFE/RL reported. ________________________________________________________ Sources: Anastasia Zotova, Facebook «Никого ты не спасешь» Рассказ Ильдара Дадина о том, что происходило с ним в ИК-7 — до и после его письма о пытках, Meduza, 11 November 2016 'Ildar Dadin: "They forced me to say, Putin is our president."' [Meduza], Rights in Russia, 11 November 2016 'Ildar Dadin's wife describes "total shock" at his condition in prison' [an interview with Anastasia Zotova by Gleb Yarovoi via 7X7], Rights in Russia, 9 November 2016 'Pavel Chikov and Igor Kalyapin visit Karelian prison colony No. 7 where Ildar Dadin is held,' HRO.org in English, 10 November 2016 'Political prisoner Ildar Dadin describes torture and beatings to members of Human Rights Council,' HRO.org in English, 8 November 2016 Agora International Human Rights Association website Committee for the Prevention of Torture website 'Russian Rights Defender Says Dadin Must Be Moved To Different Prison,' RFE/RL, 8 November 2016 |
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