The Kirovsky District Court of Kemerovo sentenced Dmitry Kamynin, a human rights activist and coordinator of the organization Siberia Legal, which deals with the protection of prisoners, to 18 years in a strict regime colony. This is reported by Open Space.
Kamynin was found guilty of drug dealing and extortion. According to the human rights activist's relatives, the court rejected all the motions of the defense, the testimony of witnesses contradicted each other, and the accusation was based on the testimony of a provocateur who had previously collaborated with the police.
The prosecutor requested 22 years in prison for Kamynin.
Kamynin and the second coordinator of the project, Vladimir Taranenko, were arrested in 2020. Kamynin was charged with drug possession, and Taranenko was charged with extortion. During the arrest, the security forces kicked Kamynin on the head, this was recorded on video , but they did not initiate a case. The ECtHR declared admissible the lawyers' complaint of torture, excessive length of detention and lack of effective remedies.
In the pre-trial detention center, Kamynin went on a hunger strike and opened his veins, because he was not provided with medical assistance. He said that he was placed in a "torture cell" – a room without heating, with unsanitary conditions. There he was forced to sleep naked on the floor. Taranenko's relatives also reported that the prisoner had been tortured.
On January 4, 2022, Kamynin was released from the Kemerovo pre-trial detention center, but was immediately detained again and charged with extortion. The investigation claimed that he extorted 20 thousand rubles from a resident of Kemerovo.
