Three Russian poets, jailed after taking part in a reading against the conflict in Ukraine, have been accused of threatening “state security” and prosecuted, the lawyer for one of the defendants said on Tuesday.
According to this lawyer, Leonid Solovyov, the three young people are being prosecuted for “public calls to commit activities against state security”, but also for “incitement to hatred” in an “organized group”. They face a total of ten years in prison on these two charges, the lawyer said.
One of them claims to have been raped during his detention
Artem Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Daïneko were arrested in September after taking part in a Moscow reading on Mayakovsky Square, a place where dissidents have gathered since Soviet times.
During this reading, Artem Kamardin had recited a poem, “Kill me, militiaman!”, very hostile to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The following day, Artem Kamardine was arrested during a search of his home during which he claimed to have been beaten and raped with a dumbbell by the police. In November, Artem Kamardine’s partner, Alexandra Popova, had said that she too had suffered violence and threats of rape during this search.
They face up to 10 years in prison.
Initially, the three poets had been charged solely with “incitement to hatred”, punishable by six years in prison. Now they risk four more years.
Lawyer Leonid Solovyov said it was the first time he knew that the Russians were charged with “calls to commit activities against state security,” a crime introduced in July into the penal code.
Since the launch of the military offensive against Ukraine, the Russian authorities have stepped up the crackdown on critical voices, with thousands of fines and heavy prison terms.
In the cultural realm, artists critical of Vladimir Putin have also been fired or exiled.
Source: BFM TV
