"He Inserted Pen and Moved It Toward the Adam's Apple"
- 3.06.2021, 13:53
An eyewitness describes events at the trial of Stepan Latypov.
The details of the suicide attempt, which political prisoner Stepan Latypov committed in court, have become available. The Viasna HR activists published the story of a man who witnessed the event.
Latypov's trial began on 1 June. During the trial, Stepan gave the audience in the hall to understand that he had been beaten. Later he said that the officers of GUBOPiK threatened him with criminal charges against his relatives and neighbours if he did not confess. He also said that he had been kept in a so-called "press cell" for 51 days. After that, Latypov tried to rip his throat out with a pen.
Below is an eyewitness report:
"At that moment, Stepan stepped back onto the bench, pressed himself against the wall so that the guard couldn't reach him through the bars, and inserted the pen into his neck. A deafening scream breaks out. The guard literally digs his whole body into the bars, trying to stop Stepan.
The commotion begins, the guards can't find the key... I look around: people scream, the judge is leaving, frightened police officers are running around, the state prosecutor is paralyzed with fright. I look at Stepan: his eyes are wide open, something white is sticking out of his mouth, probably something that was tied around his hand. He doesn't close his eyes, his every move is deliberate. He inserted the pen from his left side and began to move it, tearing through the soft tissues toward Adam's apple. It's hard to do, so he does it with both hands. He's turning blue, but he's still looking. The only immobile person in the room is Sergei Latypov.
When there was chaos and confusion around Stepan, he seemed frozen in the moment. His eyes focused on his father were not full of despair and weakness. On the contrary, it was such a display of his strength of spirit. He felt his innocence and could not plead guilty, even after being beaten and threatened by the GUBOPiK officers. Therefore, this step, in his opinion, was the only possible and right one for him to save his father and loved ones. If one could illustrate this moment with a single picture, it would be a picture of Stepan with his gaze full of strength and courage as he holds the damn white pen in his throat with both hands and looks at his father.
The guards begin to shout in foul language for everyone to leave the hall immediately. The commotion intensifies. The guards are already in the cell, I pass by Stepan: he is lying on his back, there is a red stripe on his neck, his head is blue, a white cloth is still sticking out of his mouth. I look at his stomach - he's breathing. We're in the corridor; Stepan and some of the staff are in the cell."
The ambulance took Latypov to hospita. He had surgery on the same day. The next day it became known that he was returned to TDF 1.
Stepan Latypov was detained on September 15, 2020. He demanded law enforcers to introduce themselves. It happened in the courtyard near the famous mural with the DJs of Change. At first, it was claimed that he was going to poison the law enforcers. Then he was charged with organizing group actions that grossly violate public order, resistance to police officers, and large-scale fraud.