May 5, 2026

Anarchist Azat Miftakhov reports torture with electricity and threats of rape in prison

Anarchist Azat Miftakhov, convicted of "justifying terrorism," is being tortured after being transferred to colony No. 18 "Polyarnaya sova" in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The political prisoner himself reported this. Photo: Miftakhov's support group. Description of the torture. According to Miftakhov, on April 21, he was taken to the colony administration building and forced to clean a toilet. After refusal, he was taped up and beaten with a wooden hammer on his heels. He was also beaten in the groin, face, and head. Additionally, he was threatened with rape and having his face plunged into a sewer hatch. Afterwards, Miftakhov was taken to the second floor of the building, wires were connected to his toes, and an electric current was applied. To drown out his screams, FSIN employees and inmates played music at full volume. The electric torture continued after each refusal to obey the administration. Who is involved in the torture. Miftakhov named the individuals involved in the torture: colony employees Mikhail Sobolev and Alexey Viktorovich, operatives Pavel Kiselev and Evgeny, as well as inmates Bulanov and Mikhail. The political prisoner is now in the punishment isolation cell, but the exact reason is not specified. Relatives are asking for this information to be made public. Why Miftakhov was tried. In 2021, anarchist Azat Miftakhov was sentenced to six years in a general regime colony on charges of hooliganism – he broke a window at the United Russia office in Moscow in 2018. During the investigation, security forces used electric torture against him and threatened to insert a screwdriver into his anus. He attempted suicide. The anarchist was released in September 2023 but was detained upon leaving the colony. A new criminal case for "justifying terrorism" was initiated against him. According to the investigation, Miftakhov allegedly approved the act of Mikhail Zhlobitsky, who set off an explosion at the Arkhangelsk FSB, while watching television with other inmates. He denied his guilt. In March 2024, Miftakhov was sentenced to four years in prison. In April of this year, it became known that he had been transferred to IK-18 in the village of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. In the same village, in IK-3, Alexey Navalny was killed.