exhaustion
So .. we should update you all, but we're a little wiped out.
Things here were kind of a washout from a medic perspective.. This is a good thing in that it seems almost no one that we know about was seriously injured. All the actions that happened in a disparate way across the city seem to have just resulted in immediate arrest. On a mass scale. The police and army have been everywhere, literally blanketing St petersburg and all its transport links, not to mention the level of repression elsewhere in russia.
As to whether or not people who are in jail are injured, we don't know.
The legal situation is somewhat chaotic.. one of the legal phones has been smashed up when the guy who was on the end of it was arrested, and there is a dearth of resources in the extreme.
Were driving around now as I write on our way to a police station with food, water, toothbrushes and cigarettes for some people who were arrested. They dont provide these things in police stations in Russia, not until you've been to court and are in jail even if its days, and even then the food leaves a lot to be desired. People are therefore utterly reliant on their friends who may not even know they are there. (and you can only deliver food at certain specified but random hours)
(People are also being denied phonecalls, although some have been able to hang onto their mobile phones which is how information is getting out.
The legal system here is well... insane. People who were arrested yesterday morning were tried and convicted yesterday evening regardless of legal representation, the clear and evident inability to mount a substantial defence within that time frame not something considered significant here. As the British vice consul kept saying frustratedly when I called him.. "this is russia..."
Some people are on hunger strike.. because they want to resist in every possible way..
We are desperately trying to find a belorussian who was taken to hospital with head injuries after being arrested by the police. The judge who knows has refused to tell any of the legal team or a lawyer and when last seen this man was very disorientated and probably had concussion. This is something people frequently die of in police custody in western countries let alone here. He may well be in a hospital but we have called them all and we still cant find him. Im not going to post his name yet but if we dont get news soon then well have no choice
Lots and lots more to tell you and more arrests since I last wrote but no time now to lay them out clearly. Will endeavour to do so later. Am currently writing a database to put all our scraps of information into as paper just doesnt cut it in this situation.
will try to post coherent legal information later xx M, G and A
Things here were kind of a washout from a medic perspective.. This is a good thing in that it seems almost no one that we know about was seriously injured. All the actions that happened in a disparate way across the city seem to have just resulted in immediate arrest. On a mass scale. The police and army have been everywhere, literally blanketing St petersburg and all its transport links, not to mention the level of repression elsewhere in russia.
As to whether or not people who are in jail are injured, we don't know.
The legal situation is somewhat chaotic.. one of the legal phones has been smashed up when the guy who was on the end of it was arrested, and there is a dearth of resources in the extreme.
Were driving around now as I write on our way to a police station with food, water, toothbrushes and cigarettes for some people who were arrested. They dont provide these things in police stations in Russia, not until you've been to court and are in jail even if its days, and even then the food leaves a lot to be desired. People are therefore utterly reliant on their friends who may not even know they are there. (and you can only deliver food at certain specified but random hours)
(People are also being denied phonecalls, although some have been able to hang onto their mobile phones which is how information is getting out.
The legal system here is well... insane. People who were arrested yesterday morning were tried and convicted yesterday evening regardless of legal representation, the clear and evident inability to mount a substantial defence within that time frame not something considered significant here. As the British vice consul kept saying frustratedly when I called him.. "this is russia..."
Some people are on hunger strike.. because they want to resist in every possible way..
We are desperately trying to find a belorussian who was taken to hospital with head injuries after being arrested by the police. The judge who knows has refused to tell any of the legal team or a lawyer and when last seen this man was very disorientated and probably had concussion. This is something people frequently die of in police custody in western countries let alone here. He may well be in a hospital but we have called them all and we still cant find him. Im not going to post his name yet but if we dont get news soon then well have no choice
Lots and lots more to tell you and more arrests since I last wrote but no time now to lay them out clearly. Will endeavour to do so later. Am currently writing a database to put all our scraps of information into as paper just doesnt cut it in this situation.
will try to post coherent legal information later xx M, G and A
posted by medicstastebetter at 7:33 PM
1 Comments:
Good work; I admire you and send you good energy (and hope you get some sleep one of these days)
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