Two poets sentenced to long prison terms in Russia
Two young poets take part in a public reading in Moscow against the war in Ukraine. The authorities quickly take action. After their arrest, one of them is raped by the police, according to his own account. A Moscow court now sentences the men to several years in prison.
Two Russian poets have been sentenced to several years in prison for taking part in a public reading criticizing the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Artyom Kamardin, who recited a poem at the reading himself, has been sentenced to seven years in prison according to the verdict announced in Moscow. Igor Shtovba, who took part in the protest event, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
The two men were charged with "incitement to hatred" and "public calls for activities against state security". Supporters of the two poets shouted "Shame!" in the courtroom after the verdict was announced. Kamardin's father spoke of "absolute arbitrariness". Outside the court, the police arrested several supporters of the defendants.
"Kill me, militiaman!"
Kamardin, 33, and Shtovba, ten years his junior, were arrested in September 2022 after taking part in a public reading in Moscow in front of a statue of the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky - a meeting place for dissidents since the Soviet era. During the reading, Kamardin recited a poem entitled "Kill me, militiaman!", which is highly critical of the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. He also shouted slogans against the imperial project "New Russia", which aims to annex the south of Ukraine.
The following day, Kamardin was detained at his home. According to his own account, he was beaten by the police and raped with a barbell. The officers also tried to intimidate his then girlfriend and now wife Alexandra Popova. In an interview with the AFP news agency at the end of 2022, Popova said that the police threatened her with "gang rape", beat her and sprayed glue on her cheeks and mouth.
Kamardin's wife taken away by the police
Popova called the sentence that has now been announced a "very harsh punishment". "Seven years for poetry, for a non-violent crime," she said in the courtroom. "If we had normal courts, something like this wouldn't happen," criticized Popova. She was taken away by the police after her statement to journalists.
Kamardin himself had said in a statement released by his supporters before the verdict was announced that he was no hero: going to prison "for what I think was never part of my plans". He asked the judge to release him, but said he would stay away from "sensitive issues" in future and not comment on them publicly.
The 23-year-old Shtovba also emphasized that he had not broken the law. In his final statement in court, which was published by the independent website "Mediazona", he asked the judge: "What have I done that is illegal? Read poetry?"
Russia has been suppressing critical voices for years, but the crackdown on dissent has taken on a new dimension with the start of the war against Ukraine. Since the start of the invasion in February 2022, thousands of Russians have been sentenced for criticizing the war, some of them to very harsh sentences.
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- The two poets' public reading in Moscow against the war in Ukraine has been met with severe consequences from the Russian authorities, as they were later charged with "incitement to hatred" and "public calls for activities against state security" related to their criticism of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
- The Russian political climate has become increasingly repressive towards critical voices since the start of the war against Ukraine, with thousands of Russians being sentenced for expressing their opinions against the conflict, including poets like Artyom Kamardin and Igor Shtovba.
- The international community has expressed concern over the human rights situation in Russia, particularly in the context of the ongoing conflict in Donbass, Ukraine, and the harsh sentences handed down to Russian dissidents like Kamardin and Shtovba, who have criticized the actions of the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin.
Source: www.ntv.de
