Siberia Without Torture lawyers became witnesses in torture cases in the Angarsk colony

As Novaya Gazeta writes with reference to the head of the organization Svyatoslav Khromenkov, he and other lawyers of the organization were recognized as witnesses in cases of violence against prisoners Takhirzhon Bakiev, Kezhik Ondar and Yevgeny Yurchenko. These cases were the most high-profile in the region.

Human rights defenders were transferred to the status of witnesses after they filed complaints in court to challenge the legality of the summonses served. They were intended to be interrogated as representatives in the Kezhik Ondar case. Earlier, the Constitutional Court gave explanations about the fact that representatives cannot be interrogated as witnesses, Khromenkov noted.

Ondar was transferred to SIZO-1 of the Irkutsk region from Angarsk IK-15 after the prisoners staged a riot in this colony in April last year. His sister said that her brother was severely beaten and tortured for a long time in the pre-trial detention center. Thus, they tried to knock out testimony from him about participation in the riot. They broke his leg and shoved a boiler into the anus, turning it on. The boiler exploded. The prisoner took two operations. Doctors say that he will remain disabled, says the prisoner's sister.

It's worth reminding that a riot in the Angarsk colony was staged by prisoners in protest against torture. They set fire to the woodworking shop. According to human rights activists, during the suppression of the riot, several dozen prisoners were injured, one of them died in the hospital. The FSIN denies the death of the prisoner.