Photo of the day: 28 people were barracked in an 8-bed holding cell at Sakharovo detention center

These photographs were taken by a student at Moscow State University, journalist Dmitry Ivanov, who was sent to Sakharovo for 30 days yesterday. Here's what he wrote on his blog:

“We left the police station at 1 pm. Since then, almost all the time, with the exception of a short break for the trial, we spent on the bus: about 16 hours. At 5 am we were transferred to one of the cells of the Sakharovo TsVSIG (Temporary Detention Centre for Foreign Nationals), we continue to wait.

Many are interested in what exactly serving an administrative arrest is. In short: it is not painful and not scary, but long and boring. The atmosphere of the special detention center resembles a dull suburban sanatorium, only there are bars on the windows, and the staff wears uniforms. In the summer, I spent two weeks in special detention center no. 2 in Mnevniki and kept a diary every day, in which I described in detail the local flavor, dialogues with the prisoners, and my own thoughts in the cell. Most likely, those arrested now have a completely different experience, but in similar living conditions.

It becomes clear that they are not in a hurry to register us - they just transferred us from the bus to the building to release the driver and the staff accompanying us. 28 people were accommodated in an 8-bed cell on two-tier metal bunks without mattresses..."

But blogger Irina Dragunskaya saw an important ethical problem in this situation:

“While there was a mini-concentration camp for migrants in Sakharovo, everyone felt ok for this. But when there appeared "whites"... immediately the conversation turned about "bestial incarceration conditions". Thoughts this is too bitter, but you can't brush it off..."

One of the migrants reacted to these photos as follows:

“When these so-called barracks were being built, you and others like you were silent. Take that!"