Five pre-investigation checks have been initiated following complaints of ill-treatment by staff at a pre-trial detention center in Tver, according to supporters of Alexander Shestun, the former head of the Serpukhov district. The information emerged from a new letter written by Shestun, the contents of which were published on October 24.
According to his support group, the checks concern possible abuse of official authority under Article 286 of Russia's Criminal Code.
Official documents confirming the registration and progress of all five checks have not been made public. Their existence is therefore currently supported by statements from Shestun and his representatives.
In his letter, Shestun said he began gradually ending his hunger strike on October 7 and met with a prosecutor named Lyapkin on October 10. According to his supporters, their conversation lasted approximately nine and a half hours.
Shestun's representatives link the initiation of the checks to his prolonged hunger strike, during which he demanded an investigation into alleged beatings, medical assistance and an extended visit with his children.
According to the revised chronology in his letter, the latest prolonged period of his hunger strike began on July 25. However, Shestun temporarily stopped refusing food on August 7 after detention center officials promised to investigate his complaints, before later resuming his protest.
The 74 days mentioned in published reports should therefore not be presented as one uninterrupted period of complete food refusal.
Shestun has repeatedly alleged that he was beaten, threatened and deprived of personal belongings at the Tver detention center. Among the employees he accused of violence was Pyotr Reshetov, an on-duty assistant to the head of the detention center.
Shestun alleged that during one incident, an employee threatened and physically assaulted him and took away his mattress. He also complained of inadequate medical care. These circumstances are reported on the basis of his statements; no independent court ruling has established the guilt of the employees he named.
According to his support group, Shestun was urgently transferred to a Federal Penitentiary Service hospital in Torzhok on October 6. He began gradually ending his hunger strike the following day. His representatives reported that he had lost approximately 25 kilograms and was in seriously deteriorated health.
One of his demands remains unmet: according to his supporters, he has still not been granted an extended visit with his children.
Shestun headed the Serpukhov district in the Moscow region from 2003 until 2018. His conflict with the authorities intensified after he publicly criticized the regional leadership and participated in protests against expansion of the Lesnaya landfill.
In December 2020, a court sentenced him to 15 years in prison on charges including fraud and accepting bribes. In October 2024, his total sentence was increased to 17 years following another conviction for disrupting the operation of a correctional institution.
Shestun denies wrongdoing and considers his prosecution politically motivated. The Memorial project Supporting Political Prisoners has recognized him as a political prisoner.
The new report of five pre-investigation checks represents a possible procedural development in the handling of his complaints. However, the available information does not establish that criminal cases have been opened against Federal Penitentiary Service employees, that those responsible have been identified or that acts of torture have been officially acknowledged.
The human rights organization First Department also reported that Shestun had ended his hunger strike, while Activatica provided a detailed chronology of earlier events.