Wife of defendant in Nalchik attack case states her husband's poor custody conditions

Elena Akhkubekova, wife of Azamat Akhkubekov, a defendant in the criminal case on the events of October 13, 2005, in Kabardino-Balkaria, told rights defenders about bad custody conditions in SIZO-1 of Nalchik.

According to her story, her husband, who is kept at the SIZO since December 13, 2005, has survived several serious diseases; therefore the woman feared for his life and asked for the measures of prosecutor's supervision and other reactions aimed to stop violations to be urgently taken.

This is the topic of the statement of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", where Elena Akhkubekova had turned for help, which was received by the "Caucasian Knot" office.

She asserts that during his detention at the SIZO, her husband suffered from chronic cholecystitis, left leg injury, the result of which was chronic venous insufficiency, and tuberculosis of the upper lobe of the left lung followed by complications.

In July 2008, Akhkubekov was operated on at the district hospital of the Russian UFSIN (Federal Correction Agency) for the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR); and in November of the same year he was accounted by the TB dispensary, which means that he needs permanent anti-recurrent treatment.

Elena Akhkubekova claims that her husband sticks to active position at the trial; therefore, in her opinion, he is permanently placed into dungeon under trumped-up reports of operative custodians of the SIZO. This happens for two months already, at 2-5-day interval.

"I'm really worried not only for the health but for the life of my husband, and ask to take prosecutor's supervisory and other urgent measures to stop violations," the HRC "Memorial" quotes Elena Akhkubekova's application.

So far, there are no comments of the SIZO employees.