An English teacher from the city of Kansk in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Vitaly Barinov, who was sentenced to two years in prison for shooting a banner about contract service, said that in the pre-trial detention center he was required to confess to a crime that he did not commit. A reader provided his letter to human rights activist Anna Tazheeva to Mediazona.
According to the teacher, on March 3 he ended up in a prison hospital after two people in medical masks demanded a confession from him. “I refused, which made them very upset (of course, no violence was used against me) then, on the way to the cell, I stumbled and, falling, cut my forehead and broke my leg,” the teacher added.
As a result, the man spent 26 days in the hospital. Then he was returned to the Kansk SIZO-5, and on April 21 the court announced the verdict. In the letter, the teacher called the court's decision «rather lenient» and thanked the judge for his «favor.» «data-type=»photo» data-slate-custom=»{«src»:»https://s3.zona.media/i/a2167fd1a9e2085e831a60505ad70ddd»,»alt»:»»,» imgSrc":"https://s3.zona.media/i/a2167fd1a9e2085e831a60505ad70ddd","migrationId":"1646998844495","html":null}» alt=»1″ />
Photo of one from Barinov's letters provided by a Mediazona reader
As the teacher added, he heard from some people that the security forces would not leave him alone, since it was important for them to close the case, regardless of whether the author of the letter was guilty. Probably, we are talking about the arson of the district military registration and enlistment office, which occurred on the night of September 24, in which he was also required to confess earlier.
“Most likely, I will again slip and fall, breaking my face,” — the teacher suggested.