Commenting on Amnesty International’s designation of Artyom Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Dayneko – poets imprisoned in 2022 for public reading of their anti-war poetry – as prisoners of conscience, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:
“What crime have these men committed? Reading poetry in public cannot threaten national security, nor did their poems express prohibited forms of hatred or contain calls to violence. Quite the opposite – the messaging was anti-violence and anti-Russia’s war of aggression. Their imprisonment is nothing but retaliation for daring to express their views.”
“Even more disgraceful is the torture including brutal sexualized violence that Artyom Kamardin was subjected to, as well as their ongoing imprisonment in inhuman or degrading conditions.
“Artyom Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Dayneko are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression. The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release them and quash their convictions. Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment must be promptly, independently and effectively investigated, and those responsible brought to justice in fair trials.”
Artyom Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Dayneko are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director
Background
The case originates from the anti-war poetry readings held on 25 September 2022 in front of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s monument in Moscow’s Mayakovskaya Square.
On 28 September 2022, Artyom Kamardin, Yegor Shtovba and Nikolai Dayneko, were detained on remand as suspects in a criminal case of “incitement of hatred and enmity with a threat to use violence” (Article 282(2)(a) of the Criminal Code). Artyom Kamardin was reportedly subjected to torture, including sexualized violence, during his arrest and search of his flat. Despite documented injuries, he was denied adequate medical care. The three were charged in October 2022. The charge was later changed to “incitement of hatred done as an organized group” (Article 282(2)(v)). In March 2023, they were additionally charged with “public calls to actions directed against the state security” (Article 280.4(3)).
In December 2023, Artyom Kamardin and Yegor Shtovba were sentenced to seven and five and a half years’ imprisonment, respectively. Nikolai Dayneko, who entered a guilty plea, was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in May 2023. Their sentences were later upheld on appeal.
