RUSSIAN police detained 20 female protesters under suspicion of demonstrating against the war on Ukraine, allegedly forcing them to strip and squat on film.
Russian police arrested 20 female protesters and allegedly forced them to strip on camera (Image: RIA Federal-Press/east2west news)
Olimpiada Usanova, who is going to court to challenge the protesters' treatment, has told of the group's ordeal after they were arrested and forced to pay fines of up to £215 for attending a banned anti-war rally in Nizhny Novgorod, western Russia, in March.
She said: "The females were searched by undressing and squatting five times in the presence of a detention centre officer.
"A second humiliating search was conducted several hours later in the cells and the women were forced to lift up their shirts, take off their panties, and bare their breasts in the camera surveillance area.
"I am concerned that female officers did not close the doors as some women were examined, and male officers were lurking there."
Male protesters were not treated the same way, Ms Usanova claimed.
She said: "Detained men were just patted on their front and back, that's all. The girls were forced to strip naked and crouch down.
"And the next day, they were made to undress again, turning out their bras. This is despite the fact that every cell has CCTVs."
The women's arrest is reflective of Moscow's crackdown on those who oppose Vladimir Putin's regime.
The Kremlin in March enacted two laws that criminalise independent war reporting and protesting the war, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison.
The laws make it illegal to spread "fake news" about the Russian armed forces, to call for an end to their deployment and to support sanctions against Russian targets.
The incident echoes accounts of torture, sexual violence and indiscriminate destruction shared by the more than six million Ukrainian people who have fled their homes in the wake of Russia's invasion.
It was brought to light in a report by Lydia Kuzmenko in national media ahead of the women's bid to challenge their alleged treatment in court as they each demand around £1,700 in compensation.
Student Ekaterina Devyatkina, 18, is one of several victims who agreed to disclose their identities.
She claimed to be listening to a musician near the protest rally when she was pushed into a cell-on-wheels and detained.
Ms Devyatkina said: "They searched us very slowly, arrogantly and with mockery.
"A police officer in some nook ordered me to undress. It seemed strange to me right away.
"I stripped down to my underwear first but the officer demanded to undress further.
"I replied that I was on my period. The policewoman replied: 'Well, I'm a woman, I understand everything. Undress and squat.'
"I had to do five squats. I sat down, then got dressed. I was given bed linen and was sent to the cell to the other girls.
"The conditions in the cell itself were terrible. There was no toilet paper, no bin. The smell was terrible, everyone was constantly sick."
Other women who identified themselves are Zemfira Suleimanova, 25; Taisiya Kudelkina, 24; Natalya Nevar, 30, and Irina M, 26.
One woman, 22-year-old Yevgeniya, said she was addressed as 'bunny' and 'kitten' before being ordered to strip naked.
A female officer officer "led me to the wall and ordered me to undress completely and squat four times", she said,
The next morning, she added, "we were ordered to stand against a wall in our underwear, and expose our breasts".
She added: "This was with a camera pointing at us and a video recording.
"The door to the cell was not closed, and there were male employees in the corridor"
Another woman, 24-year-old Anastasiya, said a video camera was visible when she was ordered to undress and expose her breasts.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1625218/vladimir-putin-police-russian-female-protesters-strip-squat-video
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