Committee Against Torture receives FrontLine Defenders Award for work in Chechnya

On May 5, the former President of Ireland Mary Robinson awarded the organization named "Committee Against Torture" for the development of the idea and coordination of the work of the united mobile groups in the Chechen Republic.

The award was received by Igor Kalyapin, Chairman of the Interregional Committee Against Torture and Chief of Staff of the United Mobile Group under the Public Commission for the Chechen Republic (he is also a laureate of the prize of the International Helsinki Group in the nomination "For Success in Developing and Managing Human Rights Organizations").

"For many people, the war in Chechnya has become a part of history. It's awful that for residents of the republic facts of torture and abductions are still part of today's reality; while those who continue speaking openly about these crimes are prosecuted by local authorities," said Igor Kalyapin at the awarding ceremony.

"The FrontLine Award should make it clear to the authorities that we are not alone, and that at the time, when we need support, there are people who stay with us. This award is not only recognition of the work of united mobile groups, but of the human rights community in Chechnya as a whole," he said.

"The second high international award in a row and this attention may encourage other rights defenders working in Northern Caucasus to cooperate with the United Mobile Group (UMG) and within its structure," Ilya Shamazov, a representative of the "Russian-Chechen Friendship Society", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"We are very proud for our colleagues from the Committee Against Torture (CAT), marked by two consecutive European awards. Firstly, the PACE decided to decorate the CAT with the 2011 'Human Rights Prize', and now - we see the awarding ceremony in Dublin," said the source.

"The fight for human rights depends on the courage and work of these brave people, each of whom has put his or her personal life in the second place for the sake of others' lives. Each of the nominees has faced pressure and cruelty on the part of those in power, whose interests are opposed, of those who try to preserve their status quo, and of those for whom human rights are a real threat to their position," said Mary Lawlor, the executive director of the FrontLine.

The Committee Against Torture was chosen among a number of same deserving candidates from several countries in the world, where they are also engaged in a desperate struggle for human rights, the "Novaya Gazeta" reports.