Russian prisoners raped and abused in ‘conveyer belt of torture’, according to leaked footage – Telegraph.co.uk

However, on Wednesday their authenticity appeared to be confirmed after the regions prison chief, the head of the prison infirmary and several other officials were dismissed, according to the Federal Penitentiary Service.

It added that everyone implicated in those crimes will face justice.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which deals with high-profile crimes, has also launched an investigation into "violent acts of a sexual nature".

The crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars, but those involved are unlikely to face that. A wide-ranging report by the Committee against Torture in August found that almost half of all law enforcement officers convicted of torture only receive suspended sentences.

Gulagu.net is one of several rights groups and independent media outlets that fled Russia earlier this year as the Kremlin ratcheted up pressure against those exposing the corruption and crimes of Russian officials and Mr Putins inner circle.

Last month, Mr Putin's party United Russia won a national election but was hit with widespread allegations of rampant fraud after a landslide win despite polls showing its waning popularity.

Mr Osechkin said his NGO had already shared the footage with Russian authorities, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations.

He said his source was a Belarusian IT engineer identified as Sergey who was incarcerated in Saratov prison and also faced abuse.

Sergey was coerced into cooperating with prison officials, during which time he managed the prison's computer network and secured access to video files from the entire Russian prison system.Igor Kalyapin, one of Russias most prominent activists fighting torture behind bars, said that while reports of such torture were not unusual, what is unique is the fact that we were able to see it."

Male prisoners in Russia often face sexual abuse at the hands of other prisoners on the orders of the prison administration, in order to intimidate and blackmail them, he told the independent media outlet TV Rain.

Those things are often done not only as punishment but in order to keep a person on a short leash, Mr Kalyapin added.

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Russian prisoners raped and abused in 'conveyer belt of torture', according to leaked footage - Telegraph.co.uk