Another Inmate Severely Beaten In Russian Prison, Rights Defenders Say

A rights group in Russia has brought to attention another alleged case of violence by guards against an inmate in a prison in Yaroslavl, the city that made headlines in July after the video of a detainee being beaten by prison guards caused a public outcry.

The Public Verdict NGO said on November 6 that its lawyer, Irina Biryukova, had obtained information that Yegor Grigoryev, an inmate at the Correctional Colony No. 2, was severely beaten recently and rushed to a prison hospital in another Yaroslavl penitentiary after guards allegedly broke his ribs and an arm.

It was not immediately clear when exactly he was beaten.

According to Biryukova, when Grigoryev said after the beating that he plans to file a complaint with the local prosecutor’s office, employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) threatened him and urged him not to complain.

However, Grigoryev filed a complaint, mentioning both repeated beatings and threats, the right group said, adding that on November 3, Grigoryev was transferred from the prison hospital to an unknown location.

Biryukova suggests that he may have been returned to the prison where he was beaten.

The Public Verdict group has officially asked the Investigative Committee to check the information.

It was Public Verdict that provided the Novaya Gazeta newspaper with a video in July that showed the beating of an inmate by at least 17 guards in another prison in Yaroslavl.

Fifteen guards from that prison have been arrested following the wave of public outcry after the video became public.