Political prisoner says he was brutally tortured in Arctic prison camp

Miftakhov was recently moved to a correctional facility in the settlement of Kharp, in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Speaking to journalists, he described a series of abuses carried out by both prison staff and fellow inmates. His testimony was published by The Insider, which also identified several of those allegedly involved.

According to Miftakhov, he arrived in Kharp on 20 April after being transferred from Vorkuta in the Komi Republic. The following day, he was taken to an administrative building within the colony, referred to by inmates as “Lubyanka”. There, he encountered two prisoners, one identified as Mikhail and the other by the surname Bulanov.

The inmates reportedly ordered Miftakhov to clean a toilet. When he refused, he was taken to an office where a prison officer, identified as Mikhail Sobolev, attempted to pressure him into complying with all administrative orders. After repeated refusals, Miftakhov says the situation escalated into violence.

He alleges that the two inmates forced him to the floor, restrained him, and began beating him. One of them struck him repeatedly in the groin to subdue him, while his legs were bound with tape.

Miftakhov claims he was then turned onto his stomach, pinned down, and beaten on the heels with a wooden mallet. He described intense pain and difficulty breathing during the assault, saying he began to lose consciousness. The beatings reportedly resumed each time he regained awareness.

He further alleged that the abuse escalated into sexual humiliation. His clothes were forcibly removed, and he was subjected to degrading treatment while being threatened with rape.

At one point, another officer entered the room. Miftakhov says he was taken to a sewer hatch and threatened with being submerged in waste.

He was later returned to Sobolev’s office, where he claims he was struck repeatedly on the head and suffocated by having his mouth and nose covered. The two inmates allegedly continued to participate in the assault, including standing on his body and face, while repeating threats of sexual violence.

Miftakhov also reported being taken to another floor, where he says he was tortured with electric shocks. Wires were allegedly attached to his toes, and loud music was played to drown out his screams. He described the pain as “unbearable”, adding that the shocks were administered repeatedly as he lost and regained consciousness.

By the end of the day, Miftakhov was placed in a quarantine cell, where he began to feel the physical effects of the alleged abuse, including severe pain in his heels, groin and calves.

Miftakhov, a postgraduate student at Moscow State University, has been in custody since 2019. He was originally sentenced to five years and nine months in prison for allegedly participating in an attack on an office of the ruling United Russia party, during which a window was broken and a smoke grenade thrown inside. He has consistently denied the charges.

After completing that sentence in September 2023, he was immediately re-arrested upon release and charged with justifying terrorism. The case was based on testimony from another inmate, who claimed Miftakhov had expressed approval of an anarchist attack on a Federal Security Service (FSB) building in Arkhangelsk. Miftakhov again denied the accusation.

He was subsequently sentenced to a further four years in custody, with part of the term to be served in prison and the remainder in a high-security penal colony. He was assigned to IK-18, known as “Polar Owl”, in Kharp.

The settlement of Kharp has attracted international attention in recent years, notably following the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in the same penal colony. 

The region’s prison system has historical ties to the Soviet-era Gulag network.