Crazy record: the accused on economic charges has been in jail for five years

The courts still “stamp” the preventive measure, not paying attention to the circumstances

“Hey, you! Why are you silent, like a fish on ice? You are under arrest! – this is a phrase from the film “Weddings in Malinovka”, adored by Russians. Today’s prisoners are not silent. They “scream” in their letters about what is happening to them.

The problem of arrests – senseless and cruel – has not disappeared. She is probably one of those people who need to be talked about a lot and for a long time in order for something to be decided. And we speak through the mouths of our heroes.

Journalist and creator of the “Unmasked” channel, 33-year-old Aidar Kamaletdinov, spent 2.5 years in a pre-trial detention center on charges of extortion (allegedly demanding money from the driver of a public figure, psychologist Svetlana Lada-Rus, recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation). Without going into details of this strange story, I will tell you about the preventive measure. Despite the fact that Aidar had ideal characteristics, he had never been attracted to someone before; he had a family, four children, a job, etc. the court placed him in custody. The judge extended the arrest every three months until she concluded that this was not necessary. And she released Aidar under house arrest. But the happiness did not last long – exactly a month. He was released on October 17, 2023, and on November 17 he was again placed in a pre-trial detention center.

The reason for Aidar’s return to arrest was the protest of the prosecutor, which was satisfied.

And here is a letter from a journalist from behind bars.

“After almost 2.5 years in a pre-trial detention center, we were released under house arrest with our families. We were glad that, obviously, a course had been taken towards humanization, adherence to the principles of the presumption of innocence, support for large families… After being absent from freedom for a long time, it was as if we had returned from space to Earth. We took care of our health, undermined in the pre-trial detention center, and restoring our nerves. In my case, it is also helping a family with four small children. My wife Daria has a serious genetic disease of the spine – Klippel-Feil syndrome. All this time she alone carried the entire burden of caring for the children and raising them. Returning home, I relieved Daria of all matters. During the month of my being near the children, the psychological state of my sons normalized (as evidenced by a report from a school psychologist). The little daughter, who did not know her father from birth, finally acquired one. She just started to get used to me, calling me “daddy”, reaching out to me. The family was reunited after a long separation, felt happy, complete, exhaled after all the suffering and… I was returned to custody! This begs the question. Why were we even released under house arrest then? Only one answer comes to mind: to let us feel happiness and again isolate us from it. It was as if we were given a breath of air before being drowned again – just as they do during physical torture. It may be a crude analogy, of course, but it accurately reflects what we are going through right now. I ask that this precedent be made public, because it may not be isolated, but it is unique.”

Alas, Aidar’s case is definitely not an isolated one.

The second story is about a man who breathed the air of freedom for several minutes. The preventive measure ended, he was released, but on the threshold of the pre-trial detention center he was again detained and placed under arrest. And she refutes the arguments of the security forces and judges that supposedly they don’t sit for a long time before the verdict. They are sitting.

“November 8, 2023 marks exactly 5 years since my husband has been in a pre-trial detention center,” this is a quote from the address of the wife of the ex-director of the “Museum of Slavic Culture” Anton Golubtsov. – Without a sentence or criminal record, under the economic article. Why is there not even a drop of compassion for a person whose guilt has not been proven? Why can’t he walk, look at the sun and stars, hug his loved ones? Why does he have to rot for 5 years in a cell? I don’t know how to express emotions clearly, I don’t like to complain, but 5 years of struggle is a lot.”

Golubtsov’s own letters from the pre-trial detention center are even more emotional. “Time will put everything in its place,” he writes. “But I have serious concerns about whether I will live.”

On November 30, the Basmanny Court made another decision to extend Golubtsov’s arrest. The decision, alas, was expected – his arrest was extended.