Phone call to Putin

The phone call to Putin (Russian: звонок Путину) is a slang term used by some Russian police departments for torture method which consists of administering electric shocks to the person's earlobes, nose, and/or genitals.[1][2][3][4] According to Amnesty International, torture with electric shocks by security forces and prison, jail, and penal colony guards is common in Russia.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

This method was profiled in publications describing a case of Aleksei Mikheyev who was falsely accused in 2006 of murder while his alleged victim was alive and well.[1] After surviving the alleged "phone call" torture, he jumped out of a third-floor window to escape his tormentors. The fall resulted in a spinal cord injury that rendered Mikheyev a paraplegic.[11] His case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France and became notable as "the first serious victory in a case of torture" brought to the Court against Russian government.[3][12]

Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 there have been many reports of torture by Russian forces with the use of electric shocks.[13][14][15][16][17][18] Oksana Minenko from Kherson reported that Russian soldiers tortured her with electric shocks and called the torture ‘a phone call to Zelensky’.[19]

See also

References
  1. Nemtsova, Anna (March 13, 2006). "A Phone Call to Putin. How do Kremlin authorities deal with whistle-blowers? Silence them". Newsweek. Retrieved 2009-01-19. In one recent landmark ruling, the court awarded €250,000 to Aleksei Mikheyev of Nizhny Novgorod, falsely accused of rape and murder in 1998. Investigators had extracted a written confession by administering electric shocks to Mikheyev's earlobes, a torture method widely known as 'a phone call to Putin.'
  2. "My Only Thought Was To Escape The Torture". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2009-01-21. Torture is so common in Russian police stations that the method used on Mikheyev even has a name: the "phone call to Putin." It consists of inflicting electric shocks through wires attached to the victim's earlobes.
  3. Yulia Latynina "Phone Call to Putin: A new method that the cops love. In the war against your own people, all tactics are good." (Russian) Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Novaya Gazeta 9 August 2004
  4. "Putin reveals his need for G8". United Press International. January 31, 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-19. The first was that when Russian police torture a suspect these days, they attach electric wires to the victim's earlobes, turn on the current and call it a "zvonok Putinu," a phone call to Putin.
  5. Amnesty International report Archived 2002-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Justice Report by Amnesty International" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  7. Torture and ill-treatment Archived 2002-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "UN Committee against Torture Must Get Commitments From Russia to Stop Torture". Archived from the original on 2008-11-11. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  9. Torture in Russia "This man-made Hell" Archived 2007-03-08 at the Wayback Machine - by Amnesty International, 3 April 1997
  10. "Russian intelligence agency FSB accused of torturing suspects with electric shocks".
  11. Russia Report: February 6, 2006 by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  12. Police Are at War With the Russian People by Yulia Latynina "In Nizhny Novgorod, Alexei Mikheyev gave a ride to a young woman he knew. When she didn't come home that evening, Mikheyev was arrested. He was tortured in the usual way -- the way Indians tortured white settlers and Chechen fighters torture Russian contract soldiers. Among other things the cops attached electric wires to Mikheyev's earlobes, a technique they like to call zvonok Putinu, or 'a phone call to Putin.' Mikheyev confessed to rape and murder." "Russia, Human Rights Atrocities, Police Lawlessness - JRL 8-11-04". Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. "Russian forces launch full-scale invasion of Ukraine". Al Jazeera. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  14. "Chilling account of Radio France fixer who was kidnapped and tortured by Russian soldiers in Ukraine | Reporters without borders". RSF. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  15. Ott, Haley (22 March 2022). "Journalist reportedly kidnapped and tortured by Russian soldiers in Ukraine". CBS News. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  16. "Le récit glaçant de ce fixeur ukrainien de Radio France arrêté par les Russes". Le HuffPost (in French). 21 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  17. "Ukraine: Executions, Torture During Russian Occupation Apparent War Crimes in Kyiv, Chernihiv Regions". Human Rights Watch. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  18. "'I Would Not Have Kidneys Left': Ukrainian Village Deputy Speaks About Russian Torture, Threat". International Business Times. June 2022.
  19. "'Russians put me next to my husband's fresh grave and amused themselves by shooting over my head'". Texty.org.ua. 12 January 2023.
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