Russian opposition activist beaten up and raped by police
ARussian opposition activist was beaten up and raped by the police after he was arrested for reading poetry which criticised the Kremlin’s puppet governments in Ukraine.
Riot police stormed Artyom Kamardin’s flat late on Monday and beat him up along with his girlfriend and a friend who was staying with the couple, his lawyer Leonid Solovyev said on Tuesday.
The police raped Mr Kamardin and threated to gang-rape his girlfriend.
Mr Solovyev said paramedics who arrived at the scene verified that the man suffered a concussion as well as other minor injuries but could not immediately confirm the reports of rape.
Moscow police refused to comment on the allegations.
Mr Kamardin, 31, and his friends took part in poetry readings by the monument of Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky in Moscow on Sunday evening.
The video of the young people reciting poetry that mocked the Kremlin’s puppet governments in eastern Ukraine enraged corners of the internet who called for revenge.
Telegram channel 112 on Tuesday published footage showing riot police storming Mr Kamardin’s house and pinning everyone to the floor.
Mr Kamardin forced into apology
They also released a video showing three people, badly beaten and looking disoriented, making a public apology on camera.
Mr Kamardin was pictured standing on his knees with his hands behind his back, saying: “I repent before the Russian people for what I said on Triumph Square last night.”
The activist was hospitalised after the police raid but the Moscow hospital early on Tuesday decided to discharge him so he could be returned to police custody.
The activist’s lawyer said that Mr Kamardin now faces charges of inciting hatred towards Ukraine’s separatist fighters.
Vladimir Putin’s decision to declare a partial mobilisation last week sparked an outburst of public anger and protests across Russia.
In Russia’s North Caucasus, police clashed with protesters which included women who were trying to save their children from the draft.
