A Russian activist has died in prison days after describing being tortured and expressing fear for his life, according to his lawyer, in what is believed to be the first known death in custody of a Russian opponent of the war in Ukraine.
Anatoly Berezikov, 40, died about a month after he was detained by the police in his home in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and charged with misdemeanors, which he denied. A local human rights activist said Mr. Berezikov told her in his last court appearance that he put up posters around the city promoting the antiwar initiative called “I Want to Live,” which helps Russian servicemen in Ukraine to surrender, and that it had made him a target.
The Rostov region police told local news media that Mr. Berezikov was found without signs of life in his cell on Wednesday, an account that tried to portray his death as a suicide. The police declined to provide additional details when contacted by The New York Times, and no other official has commented on Mr. Berezikov’s death.
Mr. Berezikov is believed to be the first person in Russia to die in police custody after being jailed for opposing the invasion of Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Russians have been detained since the start of the war under draconian laws that criminalize dissent, but most were released soon after.
Among about 600 Russians who have been charged with criminal offenses related to opposition to the war, 37 have described being tortured, according to Dasha Korolenko, a lawyer with the country’s human rights advocacy group OVD-Info, which collects information on each case.
Irina Gak, Mr. Berezikov’s lawyer, said that a day before his death her client told her that he had broken ribs and had exhibited marks on his body that he said were from a stun gun.
“He said that he was being threatened, that he feared for his life,” Ms. Gak said in a video posted on social media by OVD-Info on Thursday.
A local human rights activist, Tatyana Sporysheva, said that she spoke to Mr. Berezikov in court two weeks before his death. She described him as being in a state of shock and struggling with basic tasks, such as writing.
“He stood there like a soft doll, in a trance,” she said. But she added that Mr. Berezikov had wanted to talk at length about himself.
She said Mr. Berezikov was known in the local activist community as a government opponent who had previously been detained for attending rallies in support of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny.
Describing him as an introverted man with an eccentric streak, Ms. Sporysheva said Mr. Berezikov made a living repairing electronic appliances and was a passionate amateur mechanic who built homemade synthesizers and tattoo machines. Last winter, Mr. Berezikov rode his bike in shorts and a Santa hat in freezing weather to cheer up fellow residents, she said.
Rostov-on-Don is near the Azov Sea and is a major military logistics hub for Russia’s war effort. The military atmosphere and increasing sabotage from Ukraine have made antiwar activism in the city particularly dangerous.
After his detention, Mr. Berezikov was charged with several minor offenses, including hooliganism, allowing the authorities to keep him in custody. Ms. Sporysheva said Mr. Berezikov told her that an intelligence officer had visited him in prison and said that the authorities knew about his antiwar poster campaign.
Mr. Berezikov’s latest sentence of 15 days was supposed to end on Thursday, but Ms. Sporysheva said he had predicted at his last court appearance that he would not survive that long, telling her “I won’t live to June 15.”
Alina Lobzina contributed reporting.
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