23:40, 8 June 2010

Defendants, figuring in Ingushetia attack case of 2004, file complaints to the ECtHR

The trial goes on at the Pyatigorsk SIZO (pre-trial prison) on the attack committed on the Republic of Ingushetia at night of June 22, 2004. Two out of twelve defendants have lodged complaints to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) claiming violation of their rights and application of torture. New complaints are pending.

"All the norms of Russian and international law are broken in relation to defendants," Batyr Akhilgov, advocate of one of the defendants - Murat Esmurziev, - told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "The prosecutor's office had deliberately protracted the process, while waiting for adoption of the law cancelling the juries. My client was tortured, and from a healthy person he was made an invalid."

In the opinion of the lawyer, the outcome of the case is predefined; but he hopes that the public opinion and attention of mass media to this may lead to objective litigation.

Author: Marat Shakhmanov

Source: CK correspondent