ECtHR receives 11 rights defenders' complaints about violations of Chechens' and Ingushes' rights in Russian prisons

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is to consider 11 complaints from Chechen and Ingush natives, who are serving their sentences in Russian prisons. The violations of the prisoners' rights were reported by the Committee "Civil Assistance".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 31, in Moscow, the Committee "Civil Assistance" presented the report "On the conditions of confinement of Chechnya and Ingushetia residents in the penitentiary institutions in the period from September 2011 to August 2014".

According to advocates and rights defenders, imprisoned Chechen and Ingush natives are often subjected to torture and sometimes to perverse torture. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by advocate Valery Shukhardin that one of the prisoners (whose story was described in the above report) was brought to a psychiatric clinic. Warders tortured him with electric current by attaching wires to his hands, feet, and penis, put a plastic bag on his head to stop his breath, and beat him. They demanded from Magomadov to confess to the crime he never committed for their crime solution statistics, and after three months, the prisoner made a confession that they demanded from him.

"Despite the fact that burns and other bodily injuries are reported and included in the prisoner's medical records, the investigating authorities have refused to institute criminal proceedings against the warders," Valery Shukhardin has said.

The rights defenders believe that the problems of imprisoned Chechen and Ingush natives can be solved through filing complaints to various courts, including the ECtHR. For the period of the project, 11 of such complaints have been filed. Three other complaints are under preparation for filing.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.