The letter, signed by Konstantin Chekin, acting head of the FSIN's Moscow directorate, states that the information "did not find objective confirmation." According to the agency, Kynev's conditions of detention comply with Russian law, no threat to his life or health was established, and no violations of rights or humiliation of dignity were identified.
The FSIN response does not address the circumstances of the arrest during which, according to the political analyst himself, he was injured. The inspection concerns Kynev's detention in pre-trial facility SIZO-1, known as Matrosskaya Tishina, although he was transferred to SIZO-4, known as Medved, on 14 October.
Kynev was detained on 25 September and placed under arrest on charges of attempted large-scale drug trafficking (part 4, item "g" of Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code). He does not admit guilt. After his arrest he was placed in the hospital at Matrosskaya Tishina with two fractures of the tibia.
A source for the Slovo Zashchite project in the FSIN's medical unit said the injuries were the result of torture. Kynev was put in a cast and his condition was assessed as moderately serious. A medical discharge summary reviewed by the court shows that from 25 September to 8 October he was treated in a surgical department for a closed fracture. He was discharged in satisfactory condition with a note that he walks with the support of a cane.
On 22 October Kynev personally told the Moscow City Court that he was injured during his arrest. According to him, security officers did not identify themselves, and the force they used led to a double severe fracture of his right leg and numerous bruises. After he was thrown to the floor, he has a poor memory of what happened.
The political analyst also complained about the lack of necessary medical care and difficulty moving in the detention facility. In SIZO-4 Medved he wrote that he remains in a cast and cannot walk because he has no crutches. Inmates at that facility have previously complained of beatings, poor medical care and conditions of detention.
Kynev's defense has warned that without necessary medical care he risks becoming disabled. Lawyer Mikhail Biryukov said that materials concerning bodily injuries inflicted during the arrest by unidentified persons were separated into a separate proceeding. The FSIN response does not indicate what decision has been made on those materials or whether the actions of the security officers who carried out the arrest were directly investigated.
On 22 October the Moscow City Court rejected the defense's appeals and left Kynev in custody until 24 November, despite his state of health. Alexander Kynev is a candidate of political sciences, an expert on Russian elections and regional politics, and a former lecturer at the Higher School of Economics. In February the Justice Ministry added him to its register of "foreign agents."
Accounts differ: the Slovo Zashchite project, citing a source in the FSIN's medical unit, said the injuries were the result of torture. Kynev's lawyer Mikhail Biryukov told Ekho that the defense does not have documents confirming that version, while Kynev himself told the court about injuries sustained during his arrest. The FSIN, for its part, says no violations of rights or humiliation of dignity were identified.