Detainee jailed for organized criminal activity in Tatarstan sets himself on fire after prison abuse complaints go unanswered

A detainee in Tatarstan set himself on fire during a session of the republic’s Supreme Court on Wednesday. The prisoner joined the hearing via video link from detainment. The media outlet Inkazan cited local sources who claim the inmate somehow soaked his clothing in flammable materials before joining the court session. Guards rushed in and extinguished the burning clothes, and the man is now hospitalized.

According to Inkazan, the detainee previously complained that he’d been kept in solitary confinement “in a basement” for several months, beaten, and denied medical care, including access to a psychiatrist. The Telegram channel Mash Iptash has identified him as Stanislav Fedosov.

Journalists at the independent outlet iStories say Fedosov and 11 others were convicted of extortion and involvement in organized crime in September 2023. Investigators believed the group worked for “thief-in-law” mob boss Rezo Lotkinsky (Revaz Kakhmazov) — the son-in-law of famed gangster “Young Shakro” — in a group active in three correctional colonies and three detention centers in Tatarstan, Ryazan, and Moscow. Fedosov was reportedly sentenced to 15.5 years, including an unserved term related to the murder of a 19-year-old girl in Kazan in 2006.