The human rights project “Zone of Solidarity” published the court testimony of timber truck driver Ruslan Zinin, who shot at the military commissar of Ust-Ilimsk after the announcement of mobilization in September 2022.
In his testimony, Zinin talks about the torture conditions in the first days after his arrest on September 26. According to the Siberian, he was kept in a cell for two days in shackles that fixed his arms and legs, which were not removed from him, and he was not taken to the toilet.
“I was kept in a cell for two days in shackles, fastened on my arms and legs. He was forced to perform his natural necessities, eat, and sleep in shackles, with his hands and feet fastened. My requests to stop <…> The employees ignored the removal of the device. It was filmed immediately before the interrogation on the 28th (September 2022 — MZ),” Zinin recalled.
During the interrogation, according to him, the investigator “formulated the answers himself, and did not write down his words.” “In connection with these two days <…> was forced to sign the interrogation protocol in the form in which it was drawn up by the investigator, despite the fact that what was written down did not correspond to reality,” Zinin explained. At the same time, the appointed lawyer provided to the investigators “did not talk” to him, “did not provide consultation” and “did not make any comments.”
On September 26, 2022, 25-year-old Ruslan Zinin came to the Ust-Ilimsk military registration and enlistment office with a sawn-off shotgun and shot three times at the military commissar who was speaking to conscripts. After the shooting, Zinin spilled flammable liquid in the assembly hall and set it on fire. The young man said that he wanted to prevent his brother from mobilizing.
Currently, Zinin’s case is being considered by three judges of the 1st Eastern District Military Court at an off-site hearing. The young man is accused of a terrorist attack (clause “c” of Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code), illegal possession (Part 1 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code) and manufacturing weapons (Part 1 of Article 223 of the Criminal Code). The hearings take place in the building of the Irkutsk Garrison Military Court.