Notorious Russian jail chief fired after claims that ‘100 inmates’ were ‘subjected to torture’

A notorious jail chief has been fired in Russia amid allegations of mass ‘torture’ targeting 100 or more inmates.

Colonel Igor Mokeev, nicknamed ‘Hitler’ and ‘The Master’, was dismissed after official checks on several ‘illegal actions of a sexual nature’ and other ill-treatment at his Siberian jail in Irkutsk.

Aziyana Oorzhak Ondar, whose brother Kezhik Ondar is an inmate at the prison, claims Kezhik had been ‘permanently disabled’ after his rectum was ‘torn’ by an immersion heating rod leading to two surgical operations.

Notorious jail chief Colonel Igor Mokeev (pictured) has been fired in Russia amid allegations of mass ‘torture’ targeting 100 or more inmates

Mokeev was dismissed after official checks on several ‘illegal actions of a sexual nature’ and other ill-treatment at his Siberian jail in Irkutsk (pictured)

The alleged ‘torture’ in Irkutsk SIZO-1 temporary detention facility was confirmed by an ombudsman.

‘Ondar moaned, shouted and called for help for three days, but none of the administration of SIZO-1 stopped these tortures and rape,’ said one account.

A senior officer was reported to be ‘grinning’ at the ‘torture’, and ‘silently closed’ his door.

Mokeev has been dismissed and is now under investigation for ‘discrediting’ the service, while another senior jail commander has been detained over torture accusations, and other warders face criminal charges, according to reports.

A former inmate and now a campaigner against jail abuses in Russia, Vladimir Osechkin, 40, said: ‘We believe that what happened to Kezhik Ondar was also suffered by more than one hundred inmates (in this detention centres).’

A former inmate and now a campaigner against jail abuses in Russia, Vladimir Osechkin (pictured), said that Mokeev subjected more than 100 inmates to ‘torture’

Aziyana Oorzhak Ondar, whose brother Kezhik Ondar is an inmate at the prison, claims Kezhik had been ‘permanently disabled’ after his rectum was ‘torn’ by an immersion heating rod (stock image) leading to two surgical operations

Osechkin said Mokeev was nicknamed ‘The Master’ and ‘Hitler’, and that even his name ‘terrified jail inmates for more than ten years. 

Five years ago, Mokeev responded to claims that his detention centre was known as the ‘territory of torture’, telling local media: ‘There are reports about it. Indeed, there are a lot of emotions, but there are no facts.’

The Main Directorate of Federal Penitentiary System confirmed ‘illegal actions’ as alleged by ‘suspects, accused and the convicted about the unlawful actions’ of warders had taken place.

A new head has been put in charge of Irkutsk SIZO-1 temporary detention facility.