Participants of Makhachkala sitting of Presidential Council on Human Rights demand to investigate violations of the law by power agents

At the travelling session of the Council under Russian President on Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, which takes place today in Makhachkala, human rights activists and prosecutors spoke about direct dependence of escalation of violence in Northern Caucasus from human rights violations and disregard of the law by law enforcers.

"Exit beyond the bounds of the law degrades security of both law enforcers and citizens; but it also undermines the very foundations of the law. The same thing happens when crimes go unpunished," said Oleg Orlov, Chairman of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

Mirzabala Mirzabalaev, Deputy Head of the Investigatory Division for the Republic of Dagestan of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), said that after 2007 the number of attacks on law enforcers went up from 70 to 233 cases. The number of murders went up by 45 percent.

Ten kidnappings were registered in 2010 and 2011 each. Besides, according to Mirzabalaev, there is a problem of girls' abduction with the aim to marry.

"Kidnappings and abductions are a sort of specificity of Dagestan. Abductions of young girls with the aim of marriage make over 90 percent of the total number of such crimes," said an ICRF officer.

"There are a number of complaints about kidnappings, committed in the words of the Public Prosecutor Andrei Nazarov, by persons in camouflage. The last such complaint arrived from the Kiziyurt District on May 28. A criminal case was opened on this fact," said Mirzabalaev.

The lawyer Ziyavutdin Uvaisov offered to set up a service of medical examination of detainees, independent from investigatory bodies: "Should any traces of torture be detected, all the evidences of the defendant should be regarded as nullified. This should be legitimatized."

The lawyer stands for legally prescribed standards that could do investigatory actions transparent and open, able to prevent torture and violations of the law.

Umupazil Omarova, Ombudsperson in the Republic of Dagestan, spoke about long and artificially protracted consideration of criminal cases.

"On one and the same incident a criminal case may be several times closed and reopened. We are primarily concerned of abductions and disappearances, which are not investigated. The kidnapping statistics shows no increase; however, the society's concerns are growing," said Omarova.

According to her story, in four cases the whereabouts of Dagestani citizens was not established. Human rights activists managed to find some missing persons in SIZOs (pre-trial prisons). Complaints from lawyers on obstructions to their work are incessant.