In Kabardino-Balkaria, local resident claims being tortured by power agents

Aslan Sablirov, a resident of Nalchik, claims that power agents kidnapped and tortured him demanding to confess to possession of ammunition and aiding members of illegal armed formations.

On December 7, the 29-year-old Aslan Sablirov left his house to find a job and never returned home. At night, his relatives have learned from unofficial sources that Aslan Sablirov was detained by policemen and was brought to the Centre to combat extremism in Nogmov Street in Nalchik. However, the Centre and all police stations of the city told Aslan Sablirov's relatives that he had not been at their places. At night on December 8, a police officer from one of the police stations phoned Elvira Khotova, the Aslan Sablirov's wife, and informed her that Aslan had been detained and brought to their place. This was reported by the message of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial", received by the "Caucasian Knot" edition office.

According to Aslan Sablirov, power agents beat and tortured him for several hours demanding to testify

On December 9, the lawyer Magomed Abubakarov, who was hired by the Aslan Sablirov's relatives, met his client at the IVS (temporary detention facility). The lawyer has found out that Aslan Sablirov was detained on December 7 at about 5:00 p.m. in the area of Second Industrial Passage in Nalchik. According to Aslan Sablirov, he was brought to a place unknown to him, and they beat and tortured him with electric current for several hours, demanding to testify, and stopped torture only after he agreed to defame himself, the human rights defenders report.

According to the human rights defenders, in the morning of December 8, according to Aslan Sablirov, the same power agents brought him in his own car to Shogenov Street, planted to his pockets items similar to a grenade and cartridge shells to a pistol, called investigatory and operational group and seized the ammunition in the presence of witnesses. After all formalities, Aslan Sablirov was brought to the police station in Nogmov Street. In that same evening, Aslan Sablirov was interrogated as a suspect of a crime under Part 1 of Article 222 (possession and carrying of ammunition) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Lawyers find signs of beatings and torture on detainee's body

After interrogation, the lawyer Alim Murzakanov, who was present during the interrogation in accordance with the investigator's appointment, filed a statement in the protocol of the interrogation that he was convinced that Aslan Sablirov was defaming himself under pressure. The lawyer has emphasized that the detainee confused his testimony, he was scared and beaten, the statement of the human rights defenders reports.

The lawyer Abubakarov, who entered the process later, also confirmed the Aslan Sablirov's body had signs of beatings and torture: abrasions, bruises, swelling of hands, little fingers of his hands had visible burns from exposure to a hot object. After talking to the lawyer Abubakarov, Aslan Sablirov himself wrote a statement to the investigator, the Prosecutor of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), the Investigatory Department of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) in the KBR, human rights organizations, in which he reported that he was tortured and that he defamed himself.

Court places Aslan Sablirov into custody

On December 10, Zaur Shogenov, the investigator of the Investigatory Division of the UVD (Interior Department) of the city of Nalchik, filed a motion to the court to choose pre-trial restrictions against Aslan Sablirov in the form of custody. The lawyer Abubakarov reported on numerous violations committed at issuing of the procedural documents; however, finally, the court announced the ruling on pre-trial restrictions against Aslan Sablirov in the form of custody. According to the human rights defenders, another incident occurred at the court building a man under alcohol intoxication, who turned out to be a police officer, openly threatened Aslan Sablirov with death and insulted him, stating that "the laws in the Russian Federation do not work, they simply do not exist."

The lawyer Abubakarov filed a motion for a judicial medical examination in connection with the fact that the Aslan Sablirov's body had injuries. The court granted the motion. Besides, the lawyer requested to allocate from the criminal case the evidence of the fact that Aslan Sablirov had been tortured and send them for investigation to the Investigatory Committee.

Comments of representatives of law enforcement agencies on the statement of Aslan Sablirov and his lawyers about torture are still not available.