An outburst of violence that says a lot about the repression that targets Russian opponents. Artiom Kamardine, a 31-year-old poet, was arrested at his home on Monday September 26. The day before, he denounced the war in Ukraine during a reading organized in front of the statue of the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, on Triumfalnaya Square, in Moscow (Russia), a meeting place for dissent during the Soviet period. “Glory to Kievan Rus’. New Russia, fuck you!” there proclaimed in particular Artiom Kamardine. A reference to the medieval Slavic state and the imperialist project of the Kremlin, which covets southern and eastern Ukraine.
The next day, members of the hooded security forces knock on the door of his apartment. Everything, except a surprise. “There was already a car near our house with plainclothes employees watching”, tells franceinfo his roommate, Aleksandr Menyoukov. As he enters the kitchen to prepare tea, he sees a special forces unit, accompanied by “people with cameras”. According to the young man’s testimony, the team first broke into another apartment, before finding the right address and pounding on the door for twenty minutes.
Around lunchtime, the police eventually enter. “They pulled my hair and a policeman asked the others if it was me they were looking for”continues Aleksandr Menyukov. Someone said yes, so they hit me. Then someone asked again: are we sure? And then they realized they were wrong. They went to Artiom’s room, after hitting me on the back again.”
“They then started calling Artiom a Nazi and threatened to kill him. They were yelling at him and beating him up”tells franceinfo Aleksandra Popova, also present at the scene. “When they found out I was his girlfriend, they also called me a Nazi. They threatened to shoot their gun.”
“They started talking about rape and I heard very clearly that they did it. Artyom told them to stop, that we had to discuss. They destroyed everything in the apartment.”
Aleksandra Popova, girlfriend of Artyom Kamardinat franceinfo
“When it happened, the doors were open. I was lying in my room with my feet towards the door”then tells Aleksandr Menyoukov. I didn’t see anything, but I heard everything. I heard Artiom being tortured, I heard his screams, the police commenting. They made him undress and so on. I mean, I heard it clearly. It happened literally a few feet away from me.”
The police raid does not stop there. “Afterwards, they filmed him apologizing. They washed the blood off his face to make this video.” These images quickly appeared on a Telegram channel. Accompanied by a mocking message, the footage is intercut with passages of the square rally in Triumfalnaya Square. Two agents notably tackle the bloody face of Artiom Kamardine (franceinfo chose to blur his face) and the camera also lingers on a sticker: “Shame on Russia”.
Later in the video, the 30-something apologizes, on his knees and under duress: “I apologize for what I said yesterday in Triumfalnaya Square.” According to Aleksandr Menyukov, “All this violence was premeditated, staged. For example, they did several takes to get a good picture of Artyom when he came out of the apartment.”
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“The security forces took me by the hair and showed me the images of the torture they had inflicted on him”continues Aleksandra Popova. “My face is destroyed by goo, because they were trying to stick stickers on my skin. They also threatened to rape me several times.” Aleksandr Menyoukov also evokes numerous violence during the arrest. “They kicked me in the back, walked on me”he says, adding that the beating lasted nearly twenty minutes. “They tried to turn on my ex’s work computer. They hit me with a truncheon to give them the password, which I had no idea.”
“They took a Zippo lighter from the shelf and poured the gasoline. But shit, they were threatening to set me on fire!”
Aleksandr Menyoukov, roommate of Artyom Kamardinat franceinfo
Aleksandra Popova was transferred to a room of the Investigation Committee, just like her companion and Aleksandr Menyoukov. “I saw a doctor, who gave me a medical certificate for concussion”explains the young woman.
Artiom Kamardine was examined at 2:28 a.m. by a doctor to whom he declared to suffer from pain following the rape of which he accused the police. The medical certificate, consulted by franceinfo, clearly mentions a “contusion of the frontal area, bruises, hematomas and abrasions on the face and torso”of a “wound on the lip” and of “bruised chest“. At the time of review, the document continues, “there is no data on rectal lesions”.
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Contacted by franceinfo, their lawyer, Leonid Soloviev, specifies that he has filed a complaint against the Federal Investigation Committee. This did not prevent Artiom Kamardine from appearing at a first hearing on Wednesday. In images shot by local media, the artist appears with a bandage and marks on his face. “I haven’t even been able to speak to him since, because we weren’t allowed to enter the court. He hasn’t even been able to see me, nor his friends.”explains Aleksandra Popova, who had to make do with photographs of the audience. “Artiom was painful to see and wore bloody clothes”.
The 31-year-old artist is suspected by the courts of “inciting hatred” against members of the Donetsk and Luhansk militias, a crime punishable by up to six years in prison. “He has not yet been indicted and has been placed in prison as a suspect”says Leonid Solovyov. “If that doesn’t happen after eight days, he should be released.” A meager hope, to which Aleksandra Popova does not even seem to cling anymore. “He was telling me that he loved me and that we were going to get married one day. But on his birthday, October 10, he will sleep alone in prison.”