All news

Doctors find no serious injuries examining jailed opposition activist — source

The Russian ombudswoman also said that the jailed opposition activist had agreed to pass a lie detector test

MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. The photos made during the medical examination of jailed opposition activist Ildar Dadin do not confirm any serious bodily injuries done to him, Russia’s Human Rights Envoy Tatiana Moskalkova said in an interview with Life on Thursday.

Spokesman for the Federal Penitentiary Service in the Republic of Karelia in northwest Russia Vitaly Fefelov earlier told TASS that Russia’s ombudswoman Moskalkova had held a meeting with Dadin and completed a check of the penal colony in the town of Segezha where he is serving his sentence.

"There are two small scratches on his writs, which are linked to the use of handcuffs on September 12 this year. But he was dressed and there was no such a goal as to undress him but literally the other day, due to the complaints that came from Ildar’s wife and immediately form him, he underwent medical examination," the ombudswoman said.

"The photos are of confidential nature but still the doctors have shown them to me and these are close-ups and they show no injuries anywhere," she said.

The media earlier publicized Dadin’s letter in which he claimed to have been tortured in the Segezh colony. After that, Russian Human Rights Ombudsperson Moskalkova requested the Federal Penitentiary Service authorities and the Prosecutor General’s office to look into this case. The Karelia Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service and the regional Investigation Committee also initiated investigations.

Dadin is the first person in Russia sentenced for violation of Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code (repeated violations of the rules of public gatherings). In December 2015, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court found Dadin guilty on four counts of participating in unauthorized protests in Moscow.

Dadin was sentenced to three years in a penal colony but then the Moscow City Court reduced his jail term to two and a half years.

The Russian ombudswoman also said that the jailed opposition activist had agreed to pass a lie detector test.

"Ildar Dadin has agreed to pass a lie detector test. The expert who will hold the test will arrive from Petrozavodsk," she said.

According to her, the meeting with Dadin passed in a trustworthy atmosphere.

The Russian ombudswoman also proposed transferring Dadin to another penal colony.

"I put forward a proposal on transferring Dadin to another penitentiary facility, depending on the results of the check of his complaints," she said. 

Federal Penitentiary Service says activist sustained 'no injuries' 

Dadin was examined in the hospital on Wednesday over torture allegations, examination finding no injuries, the FSIN Federal Penitentiary Service told TASS. 

It said Dadin was examined by a neurosurgeon and neurologist. "No injuries or their consequences or any other pathologies necessitating medical aid were found," the FSIN prison service said.

Dadin is the first person sentenced in Russia for violation of Article 212.1 of the Russian criminal code (repeated violations of the rules of public gatherings). In December 2015, Moscow’s Basmanny court found Dadin guilty of four episodes of participation in unauthorized protests in 2014 in downtown Moscow.

In a letter, published by the mass media, Dadin writes that he was tortured and abused by the personnel in the colony in the Segezhsky district of Karelia. Russia’s prison authority, the Federal Penitentiary Service, has also launched its own investigation.