Russia: Journalists report inhumane conditions in detention
Two journalists, Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin, who stand accused of supporting an "extremist organization," have detailed the harsh conditions of their pre-trial detention in Moscow. In early October, the two men were transferred to a prison known as "Matrosskaya Tishina" ("Sailors' Silence"), which is notorious among human rights organizations for its bad conditions.
Deutsche Welle has obtained a copy of a letter written by Konstantin Gabov: "The cell is overcrowded. Another inmate and I sleep on the floor," he reports. "During the day we sit on a bench without a backrest, as there's no space. The mattress, blanket and pillow are worn out, and there are bedbugs. The atmosphere here is oppressive."Prior to his arrest in April, Gabov worked as a producer for Reuters news agency. Before that, he had also worked for DW's Moscow bureau. "It feels like being held in a basement. [There's only] one small window somewhere high up," Gabov writes in the letter.
'Total lack of privacy'
Cameraman Sergey Karelin also worked for DW in Moscow, as well as for the Associated Press (AP) news agency. He, too, describes inhumane detention conditions. "I was transferred to cell 246 — four bunks for eight people," the journalist wrote in a letter to the Novaya Gazeta newspaper. He reports that the extra inmates slept "on folding cots with a hole in the middle," lying "side by side and head to foot."
Karelin complains about the "total lack of privacy" in his cell. "The inmates of this cell face serious charges; one is accused of high treason. But these are young lads; only one man is older," Karelin writes.
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