The Saratov prison hospital in southwestern Russia came to the fore last year when chilling footage of the torture of prisoners was leaked to a human rights organization and international media coverage.
Alexey MakarovBefore he was transferred to Saratov prison to serve the remainder of his 6-year sentence for assault in 2018, he had heard of the notoriety of the place. Prisoners sent from other prisons to the Saratov prison hospital said that false medical reasons were fabricated so that they could be tortured behind closed doors.
Russian prisons are almost not subject to any independent inspection. Prison hospitals, on the other hand, are even more out of control due to quarantine rules.
Makarov was really sick. She had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and hoped she wouldn’t be touched because of her condition. However, she says that she was raped twice during her detention there.
Victims and experts say that the abuse and abuse of Makarov and other prisoners has always occurred with the knowledge and consent of the prison administration, and then used as a material to blackmail and threaten the prisoners.
Tortured for the first time in 2020
The leaked torture footage, which made a huge splash, forced the Russian government to take steps to deal with the scandal. According to the independent Russian media project Proekt, between 2015 and 2019, 90 percent of the prisons in Russia and its affiliated regions received complaints of torture. But it was moving very slowly.
The BBC reviewed thousands of court documents from this period and found that 41 prison officers were convicted in the most severe prisoner abuse cases. But nearly half of them had their sentences suspended.
The BBC also spoke to many ex-prisoners, including Makarov, about their experiences in prison. Makarov describes how he was tortured for the first time in February 2020. They wanted him to admit that he had been involved in a conspiracy against the prison administration, but he also refused.
She tells that she was sexually abused by three men:
“They beat me for 10 minutes, they ripped my clothes off. Then they raped me with brush sticks for two hours. When I fainted, they poured cold water on me and laid me back on the table.”
Two months later the same thing happened again. Makarov was forced to pay the attackers 50,000 rubles ($890) and believes he was raped to prevent him from talking about it.
Makarov also told the BBC that there was a video recording of the rape. Prisoners know that leaking such derogatory images is used as an element of blackmail.
The rapists were other prisoners, but Makarov and the other prisoners have no doubt that these individuals acted with the direction and approval of the prison administration. They say that loud music was played so that screams were not heard during the torture.
Putin replaced the director
Russian President Vladimir Putin replaced the Director General of Russian Prisons and said “systematic measures” would be taken to bring about change.
An amendment to the law last month introduced severe penalties for security and enforcement officials to abuse their power and resort to torture. But human rights groups point out that torture as a separate crime is not included in criminal law.
In fact, Putin promised change in 2018 when evidence of mass beating of prisoners was leaked, this time in the Yarovlav prison north of Moscow.
11 staff members of the Yaroslav prison were tried and sentenced to the lowest possible sentences in 2020, with the two top officials acquitted.
Torture at least 350 prisoners
But the biggest prison torture scandal in the country to date has emerged in the Irkutsk region of Siberia. In response to the protest actions of the prisoners in Prison No. 15 in Angarsk in 2020, the authorities called special operations teams.
Hundreds of prisoners were transferred to two separate detention centers, where they were tortured by guards and other prisoners. Human rights volunteers estimate that at least 350 prisoners were tortured in this incident.
One of the tortured prisoners Denis Pokusaev“The persecution continued for almost three months, every day except weekends. They were laughing and watching while eating fruit. They were raping someone with whatever they could get their hands on, the guards were watching with delight.” says.
Cases awaited
BBC Russian applied for opinions from prison authorities regarding the allegations of torture and rape, but received no response. Pokusaev is one of the 30 prisoners who were legally registered as victims in this incident and agreed to testify in court.
Many lawsuits are expected at the end of the investigation. Denis and a small number of other ex-cons are soon preparing to testify against two prison staff. Attorneys, complainants and witnesses have been promised not to give outside information in the case that will be closed.
It remains unclear whether these legal processes will pave the way for meaningful reform. Pokusaev explains that he still hasn’t recovered from the trauma of what happened.
“I go to a forest near our house almost every day. There I scream and curse. To get rid of my anger.” says.
But at the same time, he is determined to fight for the establishment of justice. He thinks it’s possible if people gather the courage and speak up.
“Right now in Russia people are afraid to come out and say anything. That’s why no progress can be made” says.