Arrest and beating of Russia comedian in Belarus sparks human rights concerns News
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Arrest and beating of Russia comedian in Belarus sparks human rights concerns

A member of Russia’s Presidential Council for Human Rights shared her outrage on Thursday over the arrest and beating of a Russian comedian in Belarus, and urged Russia’s authorities to protect the rights of Russian citizens in foreign states.

Council member Eva Merkacheva called on Russian authorities to provide the necessary medical attention to the comedian, sharing a picture that showed the comedian’s back covered with five distinct baton-shaped bruises. She also questioned whether there would be an investigation into the alleged crimes committed against the comedian and insisted that Russia had an obligation to protect him in another state’s territory.

Merkacheva shared a statement from the comedian’s lawyer, Veronika Polyakova, which detailed the individual’s account of the event. The comedian, Artemyi Ostanin, declared that while he was being transported to Russia from Belarus, he was dragged into the forest from the car and then beaten. Ostanin said that the people he believed to be Belarusian authorities repeatedly used batons and tasers on him. On Tuesday, he made a formal report about the event, and he emphasized that Russian authorities did not apply any physical force on him.

Polyakova stated in court that a medical observation showed various physical injuries, including a fractured spine and injuries to Ostanin’s lungs and respiratory system. Polyakova insisted her client receive the necessary medical attention.

Ostanin was arrested on the charges of inciting hatred through a joke he performed in February. The monologue mentioned Ostanin’s experience of being run over by a disabled man on a skateboard in a subway and assuming that the man lost his legs on a land mine.

Reporters from the Moscow court where Ostanin’s case was discussed said the prosecutor insisted that Ostanin was attempting to leave Russia and go into hiding, as the comedian was arrested in a Belarus airport on Monday and brought to Russia by authorities. On Tuesday, the Moscow court ordered Ostanin to remain in pre-trial detention until May 15.

First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Chief of the Criminal Militia of Belarus Henadz Kazakevich dismissed reports of Belarusian authorities’ involvement in the assault of Ostanin on Friday. Kazakevich, who has been under sanctions of the US, EU, Canada, and other countries since 2020 and 2021, declared that Ostanin was arrested on March 17 in the Minsk National Airport on the order of Russian authorities, was delivered to the Russian border to the Russian authorities, and that no physical force was applied throughout his detention.

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