KChR: suspect of illegal arms circulation tells court about torture

Ruslan Ionov, a resident of the city of Ust-Djeguta of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR), suspected of illegal arms circulation, said at the court session, where his freedom restriction was considered, that he was tortured by power agents. He also stated that he was forced to self-incriminate, said his advocate Elvira Aidinova.

On July 16, the Cherkessk City Court arrested Ruslan Ionov for one month. According to investigators, on July 13, when Ionov's car was inspected, law enforcers found a pistol belonging to him. However, Ionov stated that the pistol was planted him after detention. His defence intends to appeal against the arrest.

In 2002, Ruslan Ionov was convicted, in a group of six people, for a number of serious crimes, including an attempt to change the constitutional order and participation in a criminal community and an armed formation. In 2012, he was released from prison, after which he was placed under police supervision for three years, his mother Fatimat Ionova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She has attributed the renewed persecution of her son to his recent application, in which he asked to lift up the supervision regime.

The advocate has treated the power agents' actions as "a deliberately staged episode with detention of a pistol in Ionov's car." She described her client as a "decent and religious man."