15:41, 30 March 2006

UN special rapporteur on torture to visit Chechnya

Manfred Nowak, special UN rapporteur on prevention of torture, has announced today that Moscow allows him to come to Russia and visit Chechnya, among other things. This is going to be the first trip of a UN representative who deals with the problems of torture, for more than a decade.

According to Nowak, the visit will probably take place in September or October. "The concerns are well-known. Due to the continuing conflict, there appear very, very serious claims of torture and cruel treatment," he notes.

Nigel Rodly, another UN representative who investigates cases of torture, visited Russia in 1994. He again applied for a permission for a visit in 2000 in order to investigate possible cases of torture in Chechnya, but was refused, reports Reuters.

For reference, on February 28, Alu Alkhanov, Chechen President, held a press-conference in Moscow in which he as good as confirmed the statement of Commissioners from UN and the Council of Europe on human rights Louisa Arbur and Alvaro Jille-Robles to the effect that torture is applied to detainees in Chechnya, reports "Nezavisimaya Gazeta."