A Polish civilian has died in Russian detention following what human rights organizations describe as systematic torture, marking the second foreign national to die under similar circumstances in recent months.
Krzysztof Galos, a postal worker from Kraków, died on June 4, 2023 at Taganrog Pretrial Detention Centre No. 2 in southern Russia, according to a report by Novaya Gazeta Europe and human rights organization Memorial. The case has only now become public due to testimony from Ukrainian prisoners who witnessed the abuse.
According to fellow detainees, guards "brutally kicked and beaten with sticks" Galos for the minor infraction of looking out of his cell window into a courtyard. The beatings continued over multiple days, leaving him severely injured before his death.
Russian authorities attribute his death to natural causes—specifically "cardiomyopathy of unknown aetiology, which led to the development of cerebral oedema, pulmonary oedema and acute cardiovascular failure." Human rights investigators and Ukrainian witnesses directly contradict this account, stating he died as a direct result of torture.
To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions. The pattern of abuse at this specific facility is well-documented. Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina also died at Taganrog Pretrial Detention Centre No. 2 in 2023 after "being brutally tortured by prison staff," according to Memorial. The repetition suggests not isolated incidents but systematic abuse.
