Rights defenders declare Sergey Dudchenko and Nikolai Murnev as political prisoners

The proofs of the guilt of Sergey Dudchenko and Nikolai Murnev, accused of preparing to set fire to a military commissariat (registration and enlistment office) in Pyatigorsk, were fabricated by investigators; and law enforcers forced them to sign confessions under torture, the human rights project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial" has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Nikolai Murnev, Sergey Dudchenko, Vladimir Burmai and Kirill Buzmakov, another resident of Yessentuki, as it turned out later, were accused of preparing a terror act. According to the prosecution, they planned to set fire to the military commissariat. In August, it became known that Buzmakov died at home.

Dudchenko has been in jail since October 8, 2022, Murnev – since October 12 of the same year. According to the totality of the sentences, Dudchenko faces up to 17.5 years of freedom deprivation, minus the time already served, Murnev – up to 13 years. The third surviving defendant, Vladimir Burmai, left Russia and is on the wanted list.

Murnev is still being subjected to violence and threats by an FSB officer at the Rostov SIZO; there is no contact with him, human rights defenders have reported.

All the accused are bikers from the local motorcycle club; they discussed the actions of Russian militaries in Ukraine in a closed chat and criticized the Russian leadership. According to Burmai, after the explosion on the Crimean Bridge on October 8, 2022, the law enforcers received an order to catch "some terrorists," which they directly confirmed.

Murnev said that he was tortured with electricity, his family, including his wife and four children, were threatened with sexual violence. "They shocked me very hard, tried to pinch my fingers with pliers ... Under torture, they forced me to confess that Sergey Dudchenko and I had allegedly made incendiary mixtures to set fire to the military commissariat," Murnev has stated.