Prosecutor's Office of Archangelsk checks long custody of Georgian citizens at special reception centre

Citizen of Georgia David Khubunaya, who is waiting for six weeks already for his exclusion from Russia at the special reception centre intended for minor offenders in the city of Archangelsk, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that his complaints against long custody had forced the local Prosecutor's Office to initiate a case.

"After publications of the 'Caucasian Knot', the Department of the Federal Migration Service (DFMS) for Archangelsk plunged into a strong mess. They already move hidden threats against me. Because as soon I got here, to the reception centre, I immediately started writing complaints to the Prosecutor's Office and everywhere. They responded with threats, saying that should I leave the place, I'd never be able to come back any more," said Mr Khubunaya and added that he was demanded to stop his contacts with journalists.

"I've just received a paper notifying that a case was initiated on my complaint against illegal detention and terrible custody conditions in the reception centre. The Prosecutor's Office has recognized that people should not be kept in such conditions. The public prosecutor talked to me in private, our meeting lasted for three hours; and he completely agreed with me. It was before I got to hospital," David said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

At the same time, as he has noted referring to the public prosecutor, there are no more suitable places in Archangelsk for keeping the persons pending exclusion.

Now, the Khubunaya's case is in the Prosecutor's Office of the Oktiabrskiy District of Archangelsk. Its consideration may take 2 more months; and citizens of Georgia David Khubunaya and Nodar Nikoleishvili, who went on hunger strike in the reception centre because of awful conditions and excessive time of custody, will have to stay there.

"As to my health, they told me in hospital after examination that the hunger strike caused changes in my internal organs; besides, earlier I had ulcer, and I told about it at the reception centre, when I got there, but nobody had reacted to it. At the reception centre they give only boiled water for breakfast. I wrote about it both to the Prosecutor's Office and human rights defenders," said Khubunaya supposing that "they've sacked everything at the reception centre." "They have mattresses, which should have been discarded long ago."

"I called to Moscow to the organization, which deals with Georgia's interests via the embassy of Switzerland; they told me that my documents had not arrived to them yet. And yesterday mass media reported that all the documents had been sent from Archangelsk to the Georgian party; and that Georgia did not react and would not take its compatriots," said David Khubunaya.

In the meantime, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent managed to find out that the detained Georgian citizens could not themselves address the Georgian authorities. The Moscow DFMS sent a request to Georgia on the matter after receiving the respective inquiry from their Archangelsk colleagues. The Archangelsk DFMS said that the request to Georgia was sent, but there was no answer from the Moscow DFMS yet.