Members of Committee Against Torture in Chechnya complain of threats from members of the top brass

Immediately after a picket devoted to International Day of support of victims of torture suppressed by the police personnel, Supyan Baskhanov, Head of the Mission of Inter-regional Committee Against Torture in CR, and Magomed Alamov, Inspector of the Department of public investigation, were summoned to Department of Interior Affairs of Grozny.

According to the human rights activists, they were given to understand that in case of any further critics concerning members of the top brass they would “not be let work”. Attempts of psychological pressure were made upon Olga Sadovskaya, Deputy Head of Inter-regional Committee Against Torture (IRCAT).

According to Baskhanov and Alamov, they had a “talk” with two high-ranking police officers. The members of IRCAT state that they were openly threatened. The policemen recorded their addresses, asked about their families and children. The human rights activists were clearly given to understand that any new critical opinion about members of the top brass would lead to unfortunate results. According to Head of the Mission, the policemen declared: “Either act like all the rest Chechen organizations or go away from the republic at all. If you sling dirt at Chechen police we will not let you work”.

Besides, according to human rights activists, there appeared tens menacing inscriptions on the walls of the houses and fences round the flat in Nizhny Novgorod where Deputy Head of Inter-regional Committee Against Torture Olga Sadovskaya lives with her family and an under age child. The members of the organization consider the incident an attempt to bring psychological pressure upon Sadovskaya, a statement of Inter-regional Committee Against Torture runs.

There have been no comments on these statements from law enforcement bodies of Grozny.