A member of Russia's presidential advisory Human Rights Council says that an inmate of a prison in western Russia who complained of torture appears to have been sent to fight in Ukraine. Council member Eva Merkacheva expressed concern when the penitentiary service in the Rostov region cited state secrecy over inquiries about the whereabouts of inmate Vladimir Spiridonov after he failed to appear at multiple court hearings. Russia and the private Wagner mercenary group have been accused of forcibly conscripting dissenters and critics and recruiting from among prisoners to fight in the year-old invasion of Ukraine. To see the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.
Russian Rights Council Member Fears Inmate Who Made Torture Claim Was Sent To Fight In Ukraine
Russian inmate Vladimir Spiridonov (file photo)