They threatened to pour boiling water on Mehdi Logunov so that he would write a petition for pardon
The fact that 85-year-old political prisoner Mehdi Logunov went on a hunger strike in protest against legal arbitrariness was reported yesterday by Kharkov City Council deputy Andrey Lesik. He learned about what was happening from lawyer Dmitry Tikhonenkov, who is defending the most senior political prisoner in Ukraine.
Mehdi Feofanovich, sentenced to 12 years for “high treason,” has been on hunger strike since December 18. It is clear that prolonged fasting at his age is tantamount to death. Andrei Lesik writes on Facebook: “The administration of the pre-trial detention center does not react in any way and does not recognize this fact.”
Apparently, on the eve of the exchange, Mehdi Logunov is required to admit guilt as an indispensable condition for pardon. He categorically refuses to do this. And maybe it’s time for the guarantor of the Constitution to explain to his servants, authorized to deal with exchange processes, that for a pardon it is not at all necessary that a political prisoner personally write a petition and humiliate himself before the authorities, which previously fabricated his case. Otherwise, if something happened to an 85-year-old prisoner of conscience, then the president’s father would tell the public how the dull “biomass” did not understand the noble impulses of his son...
Elena Berezhnaya, director of the Institute of Legal Policy and Social Protection named after. Irina Berezhena explains all these legal conflicts on social networks: “In anticipation of the exchange of identified persons, I ask everyone who is ready for an exchange to demand their complete clearance! At the stage of pre-trial investigation - this is a decision to close criminal proceedings, at the stage of trial - a statement from the prosecutor to drop the charges!
According to these procedural documents, a decision is immediately made - and the accused person is cleared! Don’t allow a situation like how the exchange of Kirill Vyshinsky and Evgeniy Mefedov was formalized without closing the proceedings. And after the exchange they were put on the wanted list! For sentences that have entered into force, let the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada submit a petition for pardon, and not the convicted person personally!”
Kharkov political prisoner Igor Jadan, released from pre-trial detention center on bail this year, told PolitNavigator about some of the nuances of the upcoming exchange and the notorious legal cleanup.
“They use this moment to turn things around in a way that suits their interests. Throughout my entire imprisonment there was the same problem: they tried not to wash me by rolling, by putting their people in the cell, by pressure, by landing “in the pit,” etc. get this confession out of me. Now there is a good reason, this exchange. This is their “argument”. It's not really an argument because it doesn't require my confession.
They can condemn me in five minutes, on orders from above. But in my case, when there is no verdict yet under any article, the most reasonable and legal way for the prosecutor’s office is to refuse to support the prosecution. And then, according to the relevant article of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the case is closed by a court decision. We’ll see how they actually act,” Jadan said.
He notes that in the case of Logunov the situation is different: there is already a verdict of the first and second instance. Therefore, Mehdi Feofanovich can be pardoned without his confession and even without his application for pardon. There are corresponding precedents both in Russia and Ukraine, when petitions for pardon were written either by relatives or by people such as ex-Ombudsman of Ukraine Lutkovskaya.
Deputy of the Kharkov City Council Andrey Lesik and former political prisoner Igor Jadan make a statement about Mehdi Logunov’s hunger strike while in prison.
“In response to severe pressure from the administration, by inciting criminals against Mehdi, who had already threatened to kill him, pour boiling water on him, etc., humiliate him in every possible way, he went on a hunger strike,” continues Igor Jadan. — Including in response to an illegal demand to admit guilt. He does not consider himself guilty, so he is not going to write a petition based on some procedural considerations that can be resolved in a completely different way.
Ukraine has taken upon itself the obligation not to prosecute those persons who exchange and to carry out their legal cleansing. Let them be cleared - this does not mean that prisoners should be abused in a pre-trial detention center using such sophisticated methods, with particular cruelty. And these brutal methods - sending mother hens into the cell, people who were given the task of beating - we have already gone through this. This is completely inconsistent with Ukrainian obligations to Europe.”
Jadan also said that on December 24, political prisoners in pre-trial detention center No. 27 received New Year’s packages from caring fellow countrymen. “The backbone of those people who donate to the “warm-up” are Orthodox Christians. Today is the last day this year when the pre-trial detention center accepts parcels. This is another small nasty thing that the authorities of the pre-trial detention center did for all prisoners, not only for political ones. Tomorrow no one will be able to convey it.”
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