Labytnangsky City Court judge Denis Davydov declared the inaction of investigator Ilshat Cheremshantsev unlawful and ordered the Investigative Committee to remedy the violations, according to Mediazona and RusNews. The ruling came on a complaint filed by Miftakhov, who had demanded that the refusal to open a criminal case over his torture be overturned.
Hearings were held behind closed doors starting June 26, after the court determined that open proceedings could lead to disclosure of information degrading Miftakhov's honor and dignity. His defense unsuccessfully argued for a public trial.
In court, Miftakhov testified that colony staff and two inmates tortured him for several hours in an administrative building. He said he was beaten with a wooden mallet, subjected to electric shocks, threatened with sexual violence, choked, and told he would be drowned in a sewer manhole. The mathematician emphasized that his torturers were confident of impunity: “They said: 'If you die, no big deal, we'll write it off.' Seeking help risked new torture that I might not survive.”
The Investigative Committee had previously refused to open a case, stating that information about the torture was unconfirmed. The investigation cited the absence of visible injuries and complaints. Miftakhov's lawyers noted that the investigator did not order an examination to detect traces of electric shock, and inspected the premises only three weeks later, by which time physical evidence had disappeared. A request for camera footage was made after the 30-day retention period, when recordings had already been deleted. Additionally, after the alleged torture, Miftakhov was sent to a punishment cell and his clothes were washed, destroying possible traces of violence.
Azat Miftakhov is a mathematician and anarchist. In September 2023, he was detained on charges of “justifying terrorism” immediately after his release from Penal Colony No. 17 in the Kirov region, where he had been serving a sentence for hooliganism (according to the investigation, he broke a window at the United Russia party office and threw a smoke bomb inside). The new case stemmed from Miftakhov allegedly making approving remarks about Mikhail Zhlobitsky, who bombed the FSB building in Arkhangelsk in 2018. In March 2024, Miftakhov was sentenced to four years in prison.