French human rights defenders claim power agents use torture against residents of Northern Caucasus

The practice of use of torture in Russia, including in Northern Caucasus, has become a common and routine phenomenon. This was stated by authors of the report "Different Faces of Torture", prepared by the French Association of Christians for the Abolition of Torture.

The report on torture in Russia results from two years of work done by member of the French Association jointly with the Moscow "Public Verdict" Foundation and the Committee against Torture, which is located in Nizhny Novgorod.

The report published on November 15 states that torture is systematic in Russia at all stages of litigation, from detention of suspects by the police to imprisonment.

Meanwhile, the report prepared by the French human rights defenders describes in details the situation in Northern Caucasus. Thus, the document notes that recently, several natives of Northern Caucasus suffered from torture carried out in the framework of counterterrorist operations (CTOs).

The report devotes a separate chapter to the situation in Chechnya.

"The Chechen Republic still widely practices torture and ill-treatment to obtain confessions or to arrange to kill a man and further declare him as a militant killed during special operation. Meanwhile, we are struck by the level of impunity in the republic and get an impression that in the region, the laws do not work in principle," states the report, which was published in Russian, French, and English on the website of the French Association of Christians for the abolition of Torture.