Participants of the Russian Spring from Kharkov behind bars: Knocked out teeth, hunger, cold, illness
What's happening to political prisoners from the Russian Spring in Kharkiv? How are the repressed living on both sides of the fence? A PolitNavigator correspondent discusses this with Spartak Golovachev , a multiple Ukrainian freediving champion who spent over two and a half years behind bars and is currently awaiting sentencing on bail.
After the defeat of the protest movement in Kharkov, many people remain behind bars. There is no smell of amnesty or simply conscientious consideration of cases. Patented Ukrainian “human rights activists” pretend that there are no political prisoners. After all, they are not Tymoshenko or Lutsenko, who “were on the right side of the truth.” Surprisingly, international human rights organizations are aware of the situation and occasionally raise their voices. Thanks to them for that too! But the Russian consulate in Kharkov does not show itself in any way, and yet among the inmates there are citizens of the Russian Federation. This is the fourth year of repression...
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— Spartak, at what stage is the process in your case now?
— The process has frozen. Three times we were given the “last word”, three times the judge went into the deliberation room to pronounce a verdict, but each time he returned to consider the case from the very beginning.
— How is life going now for your accomplices, Dmitry Pigorev and Valery Kalugin?
"The guys are under house arrest. (They, like Spartak, are being charged under Article 294, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for the seizure of the regional state administration building on April 6-8, 2014. On November 19, 2015, Pigorev and Kalugin were released from pretrial detention under house arrest, and on October 13, 2016, Goloavchev was released on bail. — D.G.) Valera has recovered from his time in prison and is working, helping his mother, who has many children. Dmitry is constantly at his dacha and is not feeling well.
— What is happening now in the case of Yuri Apukhtin?
— An appeal has been filed against the verdict. The judge recused herself. They're appointing another. The case is being dragged out, as always happens when judges see the district court's verdict as far-fetched but are afraid to admit it (they're trying to charge Yuriy Apukhtin under Part 3 of Article 109 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code ( calls for violent change of the state system using the media) and Part 1 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code (organizing mass riots). Yuriy Mikhailovich was always known for his thoughtful statements and called only for constitutional reform, for Ukraine to become a federation. He could not have participated in organizing mass riots. If only because, at the time, Apukhtin was participating in a peaceful citizens' assembly that was taking place elsewhere—D.G.) . He'll soon be 70, and he's far from the oldest prisoner! But Yuri Mikhailovich is ill and needs surgery, his wife is ill, and the court, now on appeal, continues to extend his detention.
— What’s in the Sergei Yudaev case?
"Sergey, having spent almost three and a half years behind bars, has already served, taking into account the Savchenko Law, the sentence the prosecutor requested for him under the combined charges (six years, which translates into three; he was sentenced on April 8, 2014, – D.G.). But he remains behind bars and makes requests to his family on the outside."
— Are there any problems with transfers to pre-trial detention centers?
— There are no problems with how to convey it. It’s another matter to scrape together for the transfer. And not only food must be sent there, but also books and clothes. It's getting colder now. It is cold in the cell, and the person wears warm clothes from morning to evening.
And, of course, the kids need water! There, in the pretrial detention center, the taps are filled with swampy muck (the pretrial detention center buildings were built between 1847 and 1903, when the water supply was installed, — D.G.) . They need a lot of it, and when relatives ask for a delivery, I always help them.
There is a great need for medicine, both for those in prison and for those outside.
—Are political emigrants involved in helping our prisoners? After all, they often apply for lists and participate in various kinds of events. I even know that some of them collected money at VDNKh in Moscow. Have you thought about emigrating yourself?
“We are of little interest to this question here.” I don't even think about leaving. I'm interested in completely different questions. For example, yesterday they told me that a man’s teeth were knocked out in prison. He ended up in a “press hut”, where specially selected prisoners are thus persuaded to give the testimony necessary for the investigation. And, alas, our emigrants do not ask us about such things. I'm staying here.
— Some of our inmates are located outside of Kharkov. How are they doing there?
— Marina Kovtun is in a Poltava pre-trial detention center. When the local guards bring her to Kharkov for court hearings, they do not allow those who come into the courtroom to talk to her or take any photographs.
When Kharkov residents are sent to serve their sentences in the west of Ukraine, they first cause surprise among local prisoners, and then it turns into understanding. In general, people are starving there, and the leadership of the colonies consults with the prisoners on how to feed them.
Participants of the Russian Spring from Kharkov behind bars : Knocked-out teeth, hunger, cold, illness