Sergei Bugaichuk, a Ukrainian citizen who had served eight years in prison in Russia, was taken to a temporary detention center for foreign nationals after leaving Penal Colony No. 1 in the Tula region. Before that, activist Olga Bendas said he had been beaten and that a Ukrainian flag bearing the word “Azov” appeared among his documents.
According to Bendas, about 10 days before his release Bugaichuk was placed in a punishment cell and had no access to his belongings. When he was brought out and escorted toward the exit, she said, he was met by unidentified men in civilian clothes. One of them allegedly told him not to expect an easy release.
During a search, a Ukrainian flag was pulled from a folder containing his papers. Bendas says that, in front of Bugaichuk, the word “Azov” was then written on it with a marker. He was later asked to sign a prepared seizure report, but he refused.
After that, Bendas said, Bugaichuk was beaten for about an hour and then had his head shaved. She herself waited for several hours outside the prison gates. Later, she said, he was brought out in handcuffs and placed in a vehicle.
Bendas says Bugaichuk managed to tell her that he was being tortured, asked for help, and said the flag had been planted on him and that a new criminal case was being prepared.
Another five hours later, he was able to contact Bendas again and said he was being held at the detention center for foreign nationals. The activist is now preparing an appeal to the Tula region branch of the Investigative Committee, demanding a review of all the circumstances.
According to Memorial, Bugaichuk was detained in Moscow on July 11, 2018. In Russia, he was accused of smuggling and illegal arms trafficking, but he did not admit guilt. On February 12, 2020, the Bryansk Regional Court sentenced him to eight years in prison.