The victim in a high-profile case of torture in a pre-trial detention center refused to testify

This happened after he was placed in the same isolation ward where the abuse took place

The victim in the high-profile case of torture in Angarsk pre-trial detention center No. 6, Denis Pokusaev, whose testimony helped expose the terrible morals in the prison, retracted his words. This happened at a court hearing regarding pre-trial detention center employees on December 7. Pokusaev stated that he testified against employees of the FSIN institution under pressure from the investigation. And a lot of questions immediately arose.

Let us briefly recall this terrible story. In April 2020, prisoners rebelled in the Angara colony. Pogroms, arson, casualties… During the investigation, it became clear that the cause of the riots was lawlessness on the part of the colony staff. And not only them.

The riot participants were placed in pre-trial detention center No. 6 in Angarsk. Then the head of the day shift of the regime and supervision department, Lukovsky, and his deputy, Baroyan, “ruled the show.” One of the prisoners, Denis Pokusaev, who was released, told the “MK” observer about what was going on behind the walls of the detention center https://www.mk.ru/social/2022/04/17/el-banan-vo-vremya- nadrugatelstva-poterpevshiy-rasskaz-ob-irkutskikh-pytkakh.html. Censorship does not allow us to give details, but these include beatings, rapes, and other wild antics on the part of “activists” (prisoners who collaborate with the administration). Everything happened with the full connivance of the detention center workers – and sometimes with their active participation. Just in case, I’ll explain the obvious: Pokusaev came to the editorial office of “MK” without any coercion, and he told the terrible details that left no doubt about their authenticity on his own initiative.

Human rights activists honestly tried to socialize Pokusaev after his release. They helped him get a job on a construction team in Moscow. Alas, Denis was never able to choose an honest path – he was soon detained for fraud. And then the most interesting thing happened: in his native Angarsk he was placed in the same pre-trial detention center No. 6, where he is being held as a prisoner…. Baroyan. He is on trial for participating in the abuse of prisoners.

This is what the pre-trial detention center employees say on condition of anonymity. Allegedly, Baroyan has a fairly free regime in his home detention center. He has the ability to move around the territory of the institution and even enter the cells (!) of prisoners. That is, conduct conversations with both Pokusaev and other victims in the torture case. Most of them are in colonies, but before the court hearing they are escorted to Angarsk, where they are placed in the same pre-trial detention center. Sometimes for several days. Is it not for “intimate” conversations with those accused of torture?

And after that, Pokusaev’s speech at the last meeting was no longer a surprise to anyone. Denis stated that investigators actually beat testimony against Baroyan and Lukovsky out of him, forcing him to incriminate FSIN employees.

All that remains is to feel sorry for the confused criminal. And to recall the initiative that human rights activists have come up with more than once – not to place victims of lawlessness in the very pre-trial detention centers where they were abused. Otherwise, the risk of such “sensations” during the trial is very high.