New repressions against Russian anarchists: solidarity needed!

​On February 1, in Moscow, Russian FSB has raided several flats and arrested 10 people under « conspiracy charges ». All of them were later released, after all-day interrogations and physical tortures, except one person, Azat Miftahov. He is accused of « fabricating explosives » and being a member of a « radical anarchist organization Narodnaya Samooborona » (Peoples’ Self-Defense). This organization has become, during last year, the main target of police repressions in Russia : several members of this group were arrested, tortured or threatened. Some of the members had to leave the country under a risk of long prison terms and tortures.

One of the arrested anarchists, Daniil Galkin, has reported about tortures. After his arrest, during 2-3 hours he was beaten up and tortured with electrochoc in the police car. Under torture, Galkin was forced to say that Azat Miftahov, was anarcho-communist and took part in anarchist actions. Galkin was forced to give an interview that was compromising anarchists, to a federal TV-channel « First channel » (Perviy Canal), and promise to « collaborate with the police by providing information about anarchist actions ».

In the police station of Balashiha, Moscow region, Galkin saw Azat : he was threatened by the FSB officers, and his arms were wringed. According to Galkin, Azat « did not look like a human being » because of tortures. He also said he heard screams of one of the arrested women activists, who was kept in the room next to his. He also heard that one of the arrested anarchists cut his veins and took some pills in order to avoid further tortures and thus avoid giving any information about other comrades. According to other witnesses and journalists, this person is Azat Miftahov.

Azat was kept in detention in that police station until late night, he was refused to see his lawyer. At night he was guided out of the police station, right in front of his lawyer who had been waiting for him, and conducted in an unknown direction. We do not know anything about his actual location, as for February 2, 18:00. We think he’s still tortured and forced to give information about his comrades and himself.

We ask for solidarity actions, informational and financial support.

For reminder : currently in Russia (and the recently annexed territories, such as Crimea) there are several penal cases against anarchists under « terrorist » charges. Here are some of them : the « Network » case, the case against anarchist Vyatcheslav Lukichev, the case against anarchist Kirill Kuzminkin, the case against Crimean anarchist Evgeniy Karakashev.

Financial support for Russian anarchists :

Paypal: https://paypal.me/vladimirakimenkov

International wire transfer :

SWIFT SABRRUMM

Account number : 40817810238050715588

Name : AKIMENKOV VLADIMIR GEORGIEVITCH

Please indicate « solidarity donation » when making your transfer.

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update from Facebook and CrimethInc. website:
https://crimethinc.com/2019/02/03/another-wave-of-arrests-and-torture-ag...

"Update: Azat Mivtahov has been found in the police station in Balashikha, Moscow region. The investigator claims he was arrested only at 19:10 pm on February, 2. Azat and his lawyer confirmed the use of torture."

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An Open Letter in Support of Mathematician Azat Miftakhov

The following text was published in Russian and English here.

Considering different sources, on February 1, 2019, Azat Miftakhov, postgraduate of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, was detained on suspicion of manufacturing explosives. He was tortured by the police and Russian Security Service; according to the words of Daniil Galkin, who was detained together with Azat, “he no longer looked like a human being.” Torture had been used to obtain testimony against Miftakhov. Security forces are concealing Miftakhov’s location from his lawyer Svetlana Sidorkina. At the time of this publication, she was not admitted to her client. Consequently, according to information from the lawyer and other detainees, Azat tried to cut his veins.

Azat Miftakhov just started his mathematical career: his first mathematical paper, “On weak convergence of finite-dimensional and infinite-dimensional distributions of random processes” in collaboration with Professor Vladimir I. Bogachev, was published in 2016.

We, the undersigned representatives of the mathematical community and others in solidarity with them, are extremely concerned about the current situation. We demand that the authorities report the location of mathematician Azat Miftakhov and his health status immediately, and admit the lawyer to see him. We also demand that they stop torturing Miftakhov and the other detainees, and we call for a transparent and fair trial.

Signatories:

Balaram Usov
Roman Krutowski
Ilya Dumansky
Rodion Deev
Konstantin Loginov
Dmitriy Korshunov
Bogdan Zavyalov
Anna Dmitrieva

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