Human rights defenders criticize new composition of Kabardino-Balkarian POC

Candidates nominated by the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Centre (HRC) did not join the new composition of the Public Oversight Commission (POC). Meanwhile, the Commission includes former policemen and staff members of the Department of federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN). This was reported by members of the human rights centre.

Public monitoring commissions are involved in monitoring the observance of human rights in places of detention.

On April 3, the list of members of the new composition of the local POC is published on the website of the Public Chamber of Russia. In Kabardino-Balkaria, the POC will include 12 people. Of them, four are former policemen and staff members of the FSIN Department. This was noted by Valery Khatazhukov, the leader of the Kabardino-Balkarian HRC.

According to Zaur Shokuev, the deputy head of the Kabardino-Balkarian HRC, the Public Chamber of Russia had no complaints about the candidates and their documents.

Earlier, Magomed Mutsolgov, the leader of the human rights organization "Mashr" and the chairman of the Ingush POC, has criticized the new approach to the formation of POCs. "I believe that former staff members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) should not work in public control in places of forced detention," Magomed Mutsolgov wrote in his blog on the "Caucasian Knot".

Valery Borschov, a member of the POC for the Moscow Region, the author of the law on public control, agrees with the opinion of human rights defenders from Northern Caucasus.

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