Russian whistleblower Sergei Savelyev is seeking asylum in France after exposing videos showing alleged rape and torture at a jail hospital in the central city of Saratov. Under the guise of his computer maintenance duties, he discreetly downloaded torture video files from prisons across Russia, which are linked together by an intranet. The series of widely publicised leaks in October prompted Russian investigators to launch criminal cases into the allegations and resulted in Russia’s prison service firing several officers. SOUNDBITES