Berezikov Anatoliy Aleksandrovich

On May 10, 2023, in Rostov-on-Don, security forces arrived to "inspect the premises" of activist Anatoly Berezikov. The officers did not have a search warrant, but they effectively conducted a search of Berezikov's apartment. The door to the apartment where he was located was broken down, six people forced their way in, and Anatoly was thrown to the floor and kicked. They ransacked the room. Berezikov was then taken to Police Station No. 6 and charged with disobeying a law enforcement officer. According to the police, early in the morning of May 11, they encountered Berezikov on the outskirts of Rostov-on-Don. They wanted to check his documents, but he refused, pushed one of the officers, and attempted to escape. On May 11, 2023, Judge Marina Kornienko of the Pervomaisky District Court of Rostov-on-Don sentenced Berezikov to 10 days of arrest. While he was in the detention center, an FSB officer visited him. He hinted to the activist that this arrest would not be his last, hinting "in general terms" about a basement, torture, and being sent to war. After serving his administrative arrest, on May 21, upon leaving the detention center on Semashko Street, Berezikov was detained again and taken to Police Station No. 4, where a second administrative offense report for petty hooliganism was falsified against him. In the report, security officers wrote that Berezikov, while in a public place, began swearing and harassing passersby. The officers asked him to stop, but he did not respond and refused to get into the patrol car, pushing officers and grabbing their uniforms. That same day, Judge Sergei Bychenko of the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don again remanded Berezikov to a special detention facility for 10 days. During his second detention, Berezikov managed to send a message to his friends that he was detained and needed help. On May 31, when Anatoly was scheduled to be released, lawyer Irina Gak and local activists arrived at the special detention facility. Berezikov had not been released. A support group attempted to locate him at the 4th police station, but he was not there. The lawyer and activists located Berezikov at the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, where he had been brought in with another charge of petty hooliganism. According to Irina Gak, Berezikov was pale, "extremely frightened," and generally looked like "a man who had been tasered, at the very least." "He was just like a cotton dummy, completely unresponsive." "His hands were completely limp; his fingers were practically motionless," said activist Tatyana Sporysheva, who attended the court hearing as his defense attorney. When the guards were distracted and walked away, the women managed to speak with Berezikov. He said that while they were searching for him at Precinct No. 4, officers took him out of town and tortured him with a stun gun. The lawyer took a photograph—multiple red marks, consistent with stun gun shocks, were indeed visible on his back. The defense called an ambulance for Berezikov to court. Doctors gave Berezikov a painkiller injection but refused to assess his injuries and left no documents. A few hours later, Judge Lada Evangelevskaya remanded Berezikov in custody for another 15 days. According to Sporysheva, after the hearing, he managed to say, "I'm afraid I'll disappear completely." "I'm afraid they'll kill me and I won't live to see my release from the detention center, meaning I won't live to see June 15th." On June 10th, Sporysheva delivered a package to Berezikov. On June 13th, lawyer Irina Gak met with him in the detention center. He was active and, expecting criminal charges, promised not to admit guilt despite the torture. The day before his arrest ended, on June 14th, the lawyer returned to the detention center. But there she was informed that Anatoly Berezikov had died of "mechanical asphyxia"—he hanged himself at approximately 9:57 a.m. They planned to open a criminal case against Berezikov for treason, and during his torture, FSB officers promised to "sentence him for life." He was suspected of posting anti-war leaflets for the Ukrainian project "I Want to Live."