Self-portrait of Alexandra Filinkova, the wife of Viktor Filinkov. In late January, news that Viktor Filinkov, a left-wing activist and computer programmer, had disappeared (24 January) at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport was followed by arrests and searches (26 January) at the apartments of anti-fascist activists in the city. When Filinkov then surfaced in court and pre-trial detention, he stated he had been tortured by officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) – as did a witness in the case, Ilya Kapustin.
Russian security services have now accused Filinkov of being a member of a terrorist organisation – together with several other people, including six people from the Volga city of Penza. Filinkov describes what happened to him at the hands of FSB officers on 23-25 January here.
Alexandra Filinkov, Viktor’s wife, had traveled to Kyiv for vacation and was waiting for Viktor to arrive when he disappeared. Here, via OVD-Info, a Russian NGO that monitors freedom of assembly and politically-motivated arrests, Alexandra shares her experience of helping a loved one.
