Report of my days in prison
Diana lives in Saint-Petersburg. Since the 24th of February – when Putin started his war against Ukraine – she has demonstrated against war and for peace. She stands up against the Russian regime risking her own freedom and her own physical integrity. On the 27th of February she got arrested by the police. For TEMA Magazine, she has reported on her personal experiences in Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Here you can read the report on her arrest and about the days after her arrest.
© Diana
The last time we heard from Diana was on the 6th of March, when she got arrested by the Russian police a second time. She took notes and wrote down exactly what happened during her days in prison, where she shared a cell with three other women. After 11 days, she is finally free again. This is part one of her report on her days in prison.
It's the 9th of March and I’m currently in prison. It's the fourth day since my incarceration and I just got some paper and decided to take some notes. It’s already dark outside and I’m sitting up on the bunk bed in a small prison cell made for 2 people. But let’s start from the beginning.
06-03-2022
On this day, a big anti-war demonstration took place in Saint Petersburg. My friend and I finally decided to not take part. The consequences of being detained for the second time terrified us a lot due to the new legal regulations. Nevertheless, we wanted to get an impression of the number of demonstrators. On the way to our friends we got off the bus in the city centre to walk a few stops. The city was overcrowded with police officers, the National guard, their cars, buses and a variety of prisoner transport vehicles. The demonstration had already been going on for 3 hours and the streets were full of wandering people. However, no one was shouting. Right when we decided to get on the bus again, we came across a big group of demonstrators. At this moment, the National guard had already blocked the main street behind us so we hurried to a bar around the corner so as not to be in the centre of the demonstration. When people passed by and the street looked calm again, we went outside to smoke on a bench in front of the bar. That was when it happened: Around 20 armed people from the national guard started to cordon off the street. Sitting on the bench, we were the first people in their way with some pedestrians behind us. They surrounded us and conveyed us to a crowd of around 100 demonstrators already trooped round by a crazily huge amount of police 500m further down the street. We were trapped. All the demonstrators were leaning against the walls and each other, looking scared and defenseless. We were shaking. Then 3 huge police buses and 4 prisoner transport vehicles arrived and all protesters were put inside. Unexpectedly, my friend got a chance to run away. She thought I also managed to flee but I got blocked by the police.
© Diana
6 pm
At 6:10 pm I was detained and brought to the police department.
I thought that I would surely be fined and could leave. I didn’t even have the intention of participating in the demonstration. Furthermore, my friend got the contact details of some people that witnessed my arrest. Unfortunately, that didn’t help.
As I already knew the laws and procedures of registration from my first arrest, I wanted to protect my rights and asked (politely, obviously) for proper documents. All I got in response was crazy aggressive shouting and filthy yelling. Police threatened to put me in a cage overnight. They behaved so badly and didn’t care for the law at all. I got so scared realising that I was truly helpless. There were around 30 people detained and I appeared to be one out of five who eventually got put in a cage till the trial. Others signed invitations to the court and got released.
1 am
At around 1 am, the police took all my excess belongings, earrings and cut off the elastic band on my jacket. Together with 3 other girls, they put me in a dirty, stinky, cold and dark prison cell with just some wooden benches. They said they didn’t like us, and that's why we ended up there. My phone was taken when I entered the police department.
The next morning the police drove us to the court. They put us in a prisoner transport vehicle along with around 30 people. There wasn’t enough space and some had to stand between sitting people.
4 pm
We waited till around 4 pm. I got my phone back before the trial. My friend and my mum came and waited in front of the vehicle in the snow and wind to wait for the sentence and to support me. I was so anxious. It was my second arrest and this time the sentence could even say “criminal offence”.
The trial was clearly a theatrical performance. I was escorted by two police officers inside the courtroom. The judge and secretary were there. My case was fully fabricated. I was accused of an administrative offense I didn’t do. The protocol consisted of a fake description of my detainment. The judge heard my explanation but didn’t listen.
He set aside all my testimony, my witnesses. It lasted about 30 minutes and I got sentenced to 11 days in jail. Luckily documents from my first trial weren't ready yet. I wasn’t in the system so the judge didn’t know anything about my first arrest. I was too exhausted and at this point felt nothing but the huge longing to be home and be safe.
Everyone got sentenced with 10-15 days of prison time.
10 pm
We waited for 3 more hours. Police officers threatened that we were going to be driven 300 km outside of the city to serve our sentences there since all the prisons were overcrowded. They started to scare us with the idea of the terrible prison conditions.
After all, around 10:30 am, we arrived at the entrance of the prison in the city centre. Luckily they could accommodate us.
I was allowed to keep my SIM card, clothes and headache pills. We arrived late and weren't provided with food or water. Luckily my cell neighbor Zlata (detained at the demonstration a week earlier, too) gave me some and I fell asleep straight away. At least, I got a toothbrush and bed linen.
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12-03-2022
Today is the 7th day since I was detained and the 6th day in prison. I wasn’t prepared at all to end up here.
The prison looks like in the movies.It’s a police detention centre for people sentenced to administrative arrest, but in fact it is a prison. Odd feeling actually. Being in a prison is not something you wish to experience in your life. Nevertheless, I’m here. So I suppose I’d share how Russian police detention centers work. For the record, this particular place is considered a good one and conditions are ok, in my opinion.
Our cell number is 97. There are 4 floors in the building in general. Women and men together but not in the same prison cell. A prison cell accommodates 2 persons and is about 2m x 4m. The toilet is separated with a 1m high wall. We joke that our cell is VIP since we have hot water and a proper toilet (some have just a hole in the floor: “squat toilet”). There are bunk beds, a tiny table and a small window under the ceiling protected with 2 lattices. There are smoking and non-smoking cells and fortunately the windows can be opened. We even see straight sunlight in the morning for about an hour. Obviously, the door is of metal and heavy and has a hole to hand in food. Food is provided 3 times per day along with hot water.
Friends and family can bring you food and stuff like clothes, books and hygiene things, which are carefully checked and noted at the entrance to avoid forbidden things. However, since there are too many prisoners, my friends had to wait 2 days in a row in a queue (outside on the street during winter) to send me something. I spent 4 days without fresh socks or a T-shirt. I’m cold all the time and I sleep in the sweater (a warm one, I luckily put on when I went outside on the day of my arrest). Basically I spent most time laying on the bed under the blanket reading.
We leave our prison cell once a day in the morning for a 30-50 min walk in the backyard (in a cage still) together with all the arrested girls. During our morning walks we swap books. Some share fruits, cigarettes and sweets they got. We chat, we joke and laugh to encourage each other. However everyone feels down and overthinks sometimes. Everyone got detained at demonstrations. And our government claims that there are no political prisoners. We’re locked but the world is changing fast and I worry a lot about what will happen to us when we’re out.
It’s crazy that around 30 amazing, intelligent girls are put in prison because they want to change things for the better. In reply we’re abused by the government and sadly the European sanctions have a big impact on our life and our ability to move away. I’m also afraid and frustrated that Russians are hated and considered guilty by some foreign people. Luckily I get a lot of support from friends around the world who also share my story and somehow spread the understanding.
14-03-2022
Today is my 8th day in prison. Zlata’s friend gave her cute pink children's watches and now we know the time!
Oddly, I miss the less obvious things like a mirror or a watch. Seeing my familiar face in the reflection and knowing the time somehow keeps me grounded. Never even thought about it before.
A police officer just came to my prison cell to hand over an appeal document for signing. It’s been a week since my friends and my legal defender applied. My sentence is about to end, however I still want to give it a try and make the judge review my case. Just a couple of arrested people got their sentence decreased after appeal though.
15-03-2022
Day 9 of my arrest. I just came back from the court. My sentence wasn’t commuted. Nobody's sentence was.
8 am
At about 8:30 am I, together with 6 prisoners, got convoyed to the bus by 7 police officers. Our trials started at 12 so we waited in the bus for 2 hours. Then we were put in handcuffs and proudly entered the court building followed by the surprising gazes of the crowd inside. We were provided with a legal defender from a special organisation that is helping people who got detained on the demonstration. Concerning the fact that the Covid regulations law we “broke” had already been invalid by the time of our first trial, our administrative offences had to be invalid, too. But guess what: The judge didn’t care. For the second time all testimony was set aside. The decision had already been made. However, we weren’t too frustrated because our prison days were about to end soon.
The ugliest part was the horrible conversation with police officers on the way back to prison. They started aggressively insulting us, calling us stupid, unaware and our protests ridiculous and senseless. Two older officers told us straight to our faces that it would have been better if we had been killed. Preferably when we were born. That we are a useless part of society, wasting oxygen and complaining pointlessly. It literally sounded like a threat. For the record, all officers wore guns. I guess, if one day they got the command from our government, they would not even hesitate shooting. I understand that their minds were fully manipulated by pro government propaganda but still; why did any sense of humanity get lost with it?
17-03-2022
After 11 days of prison, I am finally free!
I have now seen with my own eyes how rotten the Russian police and the Russian court system is. Apparently, there has been no justice in Russia for a long time. I knew it, but have only now experienced it first hand. It was a hard experience I never thought I would have to face. I’m having nightmares and I feel fear and anxiety from time to time. However, luckily I am surrounded by the support and love of friends and family and will try to manage my life. After all, I feel so bad for my country. Hopefully, one day freedom will come to Russia.