Russian 20-year-old was sent to war without medical exam after signing contract under threat, his mother says
A 20-year-old man from St. Petersburg was threatened into signing a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry and then sent to Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk region without a military medical examination, according to his mother.
Daniil Zaloznyi was beaten in police custody and pressured by another inmate in pre-trial detention before he signed, his mother, Anna, told the outlet Mneniya Segodnya.
Zaloznyi was detained on suspicion of possessing and distributing drugs. According to his mother, police beat him at the station in an effort to extract false testimony. He was denied access to a lawyer, which Anna believes was meant to prevent anyone from documenting his injuries. On 23 October, a court remanded him in custody.
In the detention centre, another inmate first tried to persuade Zaloznyi to sign a military contract, promising him money, Anna said. When he refused, the inmate turned to threats.
“‘I’m going to burn you with an immersion heater, I’m going to shove your face into the radiator.’ That’s how my son signed the contract,” Anna said, relaying the inmate’s words.
She later received a message from an unknown number that read “Mom, I’m at the special military operation,” using the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war in Ukraine. When she managed to reach her son by phone, he told her he was about to be sent from his military unit to the front and asked her to come say goodbye.
According to Anna, Zaloznyi was sent to Belovodsk, in the occupied part of the Luhansk region. He did not undergo a medical examination before being sent; officials planned to carry one out in Luhansk instead. Anna has filed complaints with the military prosecutor’s office and the Investigative Committee.
