Witness in Sentsov-Kolchenko case says he was tortured

Witness for the prosecution in the case of Ukrainian anti-fascist activist Oleksandr Kolchenko and director Oleg Sentsov says he was tortured into giving evidence against the detainees.

According to the Grani.ru Russian news outlet, Hennady Afanasyev told his lawyer Alexander Popkov how he was tortured after being abducted by the Russian security forces officers.

Afanasyev was abducted in Simferopol, on May 9, 2014. He was put in a car going around the city. The unknowns beat Afanasyev and demanded that he witness against Oleg Sentsov and other people, whose names he does not remember. Then they brought him home, where they made a search.

Later, Hennady was taken to the premises of the Russian security service, where the officers demanded that he admit plotting explosions at the monument to Lenin and the Eternal Flame monument in Simferopol. When Afanasyev said that he had no idea about those actions, he was tortured, particularly, beaten in the head with hands in gloves to leave no trace. In addition, they put a gas mask on Afanasyev’s head and pinched the hose, tortured him with electric shock, applying the wires to the genitals, inter alia. As a result, Afanasyev gave evidence against himself and against Sentsov.

After Afanasyev had been delivered to the Rostov-on-Don to testify in the case of Sentsov and Kolchenko, a Moscow investigator named Aleksandr, who had been present during tortures in Simferopol, spoke with him. He asked the convict to repeat the evidence, given during the investigation, at the court hearing.

As lawyer Alexander Popkov informs, the investigator told Afanasyev: “If you refuse, you’ll go to polar bears in the North Pole, and your mother may accidentally get into an accident.”

According to Popkov, at the stage of the investigation, the security service officers promised Afanasyev he would be sentenced to 5-7 years, followed by release on parole or pardon in two years.

The lawyer added that no violence was committed against Afanasyev after he had refused to testify.

As a reminder, during the court hearing in Rostov-on-Don, Gennady Afanasyev refused to testify against Oleg Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko, saying that he had given his previous testimony under pressure and slandered the detainees.

As reported, in May 2014, anti-fascist and public activist Oleksandr Kolchenko and filmmaker Oleg Sentsov were detained in Crimea by representatives of the Russian special services. Soon the activists were transferred to the Lefortovo detention facility in Moscow. The Federal Security Service of Russia stated that the detainees were “the members of the Right Sector subversive and terrorist group.” According to the investigators, the group aimed to carry out the sabotage and terrorist acts in Simferopol, Yalta and Sevastopol, Crimea, and to destroy infrastructure. The detainees and their lawyers consider these accusations to be absurd and politically motivated.