President Dmitry Medvedev promoted Yury Kalinin, head of the Federal Prison Service, to deputy justice minister and appointed the Samara region’s top cop, Alexander Reimer, to the prison post, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
The shakeup in the Justice Ministry, headed by Medvedev’s close ally Alexander Konovalov, was preceded by the appointment of 32-year-old Yury Lyubimov as another deputy minister.
Political analysts had expected that Kalinin would be replaced from the job, which he has held since 1992, as Medvedev seeks to fill posts with allies.
Reimer may have been tapped by Konovalov, who had been the presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District, which includes the Samara region. Reimer will oversee new Justice Ministry initiatives related to prisons.
Underscoring the problems facing the system, human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov said Tuesday that hardened criminals were being used to torture inmates to extract confessions.
“There are about a dozen of these concentration camps … in which groups of the toughest criminals, people who are serving time for pedophilia, for rape and other crimes, get official permission to torture, to rape and sometimes even to kill,” Ponomaryov said, The Associated Press reported.
A spokesman for the prisons service denied the allegation, the AP reported.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.