A RADICAL PERFORMANCE IN SOLIDARITY WITH REPRESSED RUSSIAN ANARCHISTS WAS ORGANIZED IN TORONTO
On Saturday Ferbruary 10 at Dundas-Yonge, one of the most frequented squares of Toronto, a solidarity action took place to support Russian anarchists currently accused of “involvement in a “terrorist community” (a criminal offense under Article 205.4 Part 2 of the Russian Federal Criminal Code)”. Because of the upcoming presidential elections, Putin’s dogs from the Federal Security Bureau (FSB, former KGB) have started a “purge”, trying to neutralize all the “undesirable elements”. An international wave of action has been announced from February 5 to 12.
A brief context
In October 2017 FSB detained and tortured 6 people from Penza: Yegor Zorin, Ilya Shakursky, Vasily Kuksov, Dmitry Pchelintsev, Andrei Chernov, Arman Sagynbayev. According to the lawyer,
All of them were tortured in the basement of the remand prison. The torture was sophisticated. Officers in masks and camouflage uniforms would enter their cells. They took them to a room in the basement, forced them to strip, attached electrodes to their fingertips, and cranked up a so-called dynamo.
In January two anarchists from Saint-Petersburg, Igor Shishkin, Viktor Filinkov, 23 years old, were also arrested and tortured. Another anarchist, Ilya Kaputsin, was officially only a “witness” in this case. However, he was also tortured and threatened during investigation.
When I did not know the answer to a question, when I did not understand who or what they were talking about, they shocked me with an electric cattle prod near my groin or the side of my stomach. They shocked me so I would say some acquaintance of mine or another was planning to do something dangerous. There were questions about whether I was a member of certain organizations, where I had travelled, and whether I had been to Penza. They asked me to tell them details about the lives of my acquaintances. At some point, one of them said they could dump me in the woods somewhere and break my legs.
More context on the case of Russian anarchists in English here, here and here.
“BE A REAL RUSSIAN ANARCHIST FOR ONE MINUTE”
The solidarity action in Toronto took form of a street performance: activists were proposing to the passers by to try out wooden stocks and feel themselves as real Russian anarchist, tortured and constrained with no reason.
Under the slogan “FSB is the real terrorist”, activists distributed leaflets explaining basic principles of anarchism and sharing information about Russian case.
While anarchists in Russia have been persecuted throughout the history, recent repressions take an unpredictable scale and form. FSB agents use terror, intimidation and physical violence to fabricate fake cases hoping to get promoted and “fullfill” the plan of arrested “extremists”. With a yell “Fire to the prisons” Toronto activists reminded that disciplinary and penitential institutions around the world are reproducing violence, alienation and exploitation.
We remind that legal help is needed to pay the work of lawyers who defend our comrades. Please donate (with a tag “205”) using the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow official PayPal account: abc-moscow@riseup.net
HOW TO HELP ???
0. HELP TO SPREAD A WORD!
Share this post, read other articles in English about this case, spread it on social media! Let your friends and comrades know about repressions against Russian anarchists. We have seen that, even in Russia, public attention can really help to cut down the prison sentences. It is also a great psychological support for our comrades who are isolated from outside world and need to know that they are not forgotten!
- DONATE FOR LAWYERS!
we remind that legal help is needed to pay the work of lawyers who defend our comrades.
Please donate (with a tag “205”) using the Anarchist Black Cross Moscow official PayPal account: abc-moscow@riseup.net
2. WRITE LETTERS TO OUR COMRADES IN JAIL!
You can use an electronic platform “RosUznik” (Russian Prisoner) to send emails to our comrades! They will be printed out and sent for you by our volunteers!
http://rosuznik.org/write-letter
You can also write a letter with your own hands, make a postcard or a drawing and send it using postal service. For that, just copy the Russian address below, and leave the country RUSSIA in English on your envelope. Also copy the names of our comrades in Russian!
Saint-Petersburg:
Where: ул. Шпалерная, д. 25, ФКУ СИЗО-3 ФСИН России, 191123, Санкт-Петербург, RUSSIA
To whom:
- Shishkin Igor Dmitrievitch (Шишкину Игорю Дмитриевичу 24.08.1991 г.р.,)
- Filinkov Victor Sergeevitch (Филинкову Виктору Сергеевичу, 08.11.1994 г.р.)
Penza
Where: ФКУ СИЗО-1, ул. Каракозова, д. 30, Пенза, Пензенская обл., 440039, RUSSIA,
To whom:
- Shakurskiy Ilia Alexandrovitch (Шакурскому Илье Александровичу, 1996)
- Pchelintsev Dmitriy Dmitrievich (Пчелинцеву Дмитрию Дмитриевичу, 14.05.1992)
Crimean political prisoner, anarchist Alexander “Tundra” Koltchenko — sentenced to 10 (ten!) years of prison.
Where: 456612, Челябинская обл., Копейск, ул. Кемеровская, 20, ИК-6
To whom: Koltchenko Aleksandr Aleksandrovitch (Кольченко Александру Александровичу, 26.11.1989)
Anarchist Ilia Romanov: Политзаключённый анархист Илья Романов:
- Where: 431130, Зубово-Полянский район, п. Леплей. ФКУ ИК-22 УФСИН России по Республике Мордовия.
- To whom: Romanov Ilia Eduardovitch (Романову Илье Эдуардовичу, 3.07.1967)
