Prisoners sentenced on charges of attack on Nalchik complain about violation of their rights at SIZO

Relatives of the five persons sentenced to life imprisonment in the criminal case of the attack on Nalchik have appealed to human rights activists with complaints about violations, including complaints about the detention of the prisoners in one-man cells and everyday inconveniences.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 23, 2014, five figurants in the above case were sentenced to life imprisonment; three were released because they had served the awarded terms; and the rest of them were sentenced to terms ranging from 9 to 23 years in prison. A number of defendants' advocates treated the verdict as too harsh. Rights defenders noted that there are convicts whose involvement in the above attack is questionable.

"Despite the fact that the verdict in the case of the attack on Nalchik has been challenged at the court of appeal and has not yet come into force, the detainees are being kept in total isolation, in one-man cells of the special block of the SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 1 of Nalchik. They are being kept at one-man cells without fridges, TV or radio sets, and the transfers of newspapers and magazines are banned," state the authors of the letter.

Fatima Tekaeva, the mother of Rasul Kudaev, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that warders began to tighten the regime two months ago.

"The prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment are refused of medical care, and the warders seized from them their prayer mats, all religious literature, and even the Koran. From time to time, the prisoners are brought to an isolation ward. At present, for example, Mironov is being kept at the isolation ward," Fatima Tekaeva has said.

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