Russia: According to his relatives, the author of an anti-war poem was raped in a prison in Moscow

The meeting was scheduled for September 25, at 6 pm, at the foot of the statue of Vladimir Mayakovsky. It is there, in the center of Moscow, that the “Mayakovsky Reading”, a traditional meeting of the local poetry scene since the 1950s, takes place. Artyom Kamardin, a regular participant at the event, begins a composition dedicated to military mobilization. Decree of Vladimir Putin – “kill me militia”A chanted poem in which he strongly insults the separatist republics of Donbass and invites “mass graves” from Ukraine.

Twenty-four hours later, and after several Internet death threats, the police are at the door of the 31-year-old poet and his companion – specifically, men from an elite group, masked faces, see the door of the grinder and brutally arrest the residents of the apartment. The lawyer summoned by Camardin is sent back.

The pair were then taken to one of the Investigative Committee buildings, before appearing again in a video broadcast on the Telegram channel used by the police on the night of September 26-27. The poet and two other activists apologize there “while reading”, a practice brought from Chechnya and becoming routine in Russia. Artyom shows the marks of beating on Kamardin’s face and says “Repent before the multi-ethnic Russian people”.

Filmed rape

The story does not end there. During the forty-eight hours that his preventive detention lasted, the poet was allegedly raped with the help of a dumbbell. In particular, the website of Novaïa Gazeta Europe claims a version supported by the young man’s lawyer and friend. The first one saw him at night, when he was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Another, Aleksandra Popova, told independent websites that she heard her screams in the cell next door before the men of the investigative committee were forced to watch the video of the rape.

M^I Popova herself claims that she was threatened with gang rape. A young woman released a medical report on her release from prison about a concussion, bruises and scratches on her head. Among other abuses, the police sprayed her face and mouth with super glue.

Violence in places of detention – in police stations or prisons – is an established practice in Russia, which only exceptionally leads to sanctions. The last major revelation, in October 2021, was the release of dozens of hours of video that showed the existence of a system of organized rape by the administration in certain Russian prisons.