Prosecutors find no evidence that political prisoner Azat Miftakhov was tortured in prison, but the medical examination wasn’t conducted until two weeks after he reported the abuse

Source: Miftakhov Support Group

Prosecutors in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District found no violations of political prisoner Azat Miftakhov’s rights, despite his reports of torture at Penal Colony No. 18 “Polyarnaya Sova,” his support group said.

The review was conducted in response to a complaint filed by Miftakhov’s lawyer alleging torture. Prosecutors said they had examined medical documents, obtained statements from inmates and colony staff, and reviewed footage from surveillance cameras and body cameras. “There were no facts of concealment or deletion of video recordings,” prosecutors said.

The colony’s medical unit also conducted a physical examination of Miftakhov, “during which no bodily injuries on the surface of his body were found,” prosecutors said.

Miftakhov told his support group that the examination had been scheduled two weeks after the torture, by which point “there were no traces left.”

On May 7, prosecutors met with Miftakhov in person and afterward said he “indicated that he had no bodily injuries.” Miftakhov said he gave the prosecutors a detailed account of what had happened to him.

Former Moscow State University graduate student and anarchist Azat Miftakhov has been imprisoned since February 2019. He was first convicted in a case involving the alleged preparation of an attack on a United Russia office, and later on charges of “justifying terrorism.” In April, Miftakhov was transferred to Penal Colony No. 18 “Polyarnaya Sova” in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. The very next day, the prisoner says, he was beaten and subjected to electric shock torture.

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Prosecutors find no evidence that political prisoner Azat Miftakhov was tortured in prison, but the medical examination wasn’t conducted until two weeks after he reported the abuse

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