Aleksandr Dimitrenko

A resident of the Voronezh region. An employee of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant. He was interested in Ukrainian culture. Presumably he holds right-wing views. Detained on 28 May 2022 after a search. The law enforcers allegedly found explosives and a Ukrainian passport in his house, but Dimitrenko himself says that they were planted on him. Grigory Severin, who was in the pre-trial detention centre with him, said that the explosives allegedly found during the search were packed in a juice box, which was rubbed on a sheet in Dimitrenko's flat, apparently to leave traces of his DNA on it. Dimitrenko told Severin about torture, including that the law enforcers put a bag over his head to get the testimony they wanted. He was placed in custody on the charges of preparation for sabotage and illegal possession of explosives. According to Severin, Dimitrenko "does not support Putin's regime, including the so-called special military operation." Later, the Telegram channel "Free People of Voronezh" published Dimitrenko's letter, in which he said that during the search the FSB officers brought their witnesses with them, beat him and forced him to record a video confession, while the investigator Danila Maltsev did not show him the search warrant. The search took no more than seven minutes. When Dimitrenko asked why he was planted with material evidence, the operative Denis Gerasimov told him: "Sanya, you are not white and fluffy - you have to do time." The FSB officers checked contacts in the detainee's phone, threatened him with life imprisonment and provoked him to testify against his acquaintances. When Dimitrenko was taken from the pre-trial detention centre to the investigation department for interrogation, he was again beaten and had a bag put over his head. Investigator Maltsev told him: "The times when you could write whatever you wanted in your correspondence are over. Now it's war, you're an enemy for us, you have to do time. Or what, should I bring a device with electric current?" After the lawyer's visit, Dimitrenko again claimed his innocence, refusing to testify against himself under Article 51 of the Constitution. He continued to be beaten until his return to the pre-trial detention centre, including "with a drill or a screwdriver", forced to say the word "palyanytsya", and threatened with pressuring his relatives. The defence lawyer applied for a medical examination, but the man was taken to a doctor only two weeks later, when the bruises had gone. Later Dimitrenko was also charged with high treason. On 22 March 2024, Dimitrenko was sentenced to 23 years in a strict regime colony. On 24 September 2024, the court of appeal reduced the sentence by six months.