Resident of Derbent resumes hunger strike at police building

The mother of Islam Barzukaev, a suspect of keeping weapons, has continued her protest action in Derbent, demanding an independent examination of her son for torture. The mother of Gasan Kurbanov, who was detained within the same case, decided to join the hunger strike on June 29.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 24, the mothers of detained Barzukaev and Kurbanov announced a hunger strike at the police building in Derbent demanding to release their sons. On the third day, they were promised to arrange a meeting with the detainees, and the hunger strike was suspended, but the meeting did not take place. The local branch of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN) explained the refusal by the incorrectly drawn up documents.

On June 28, Islam Barzukaev's mother resumed her hunger strike because she failed to meet her son. "We can't get a new permit for visiting our sons; they are constantly refusing and change investigators all the time. Now, we don't even know who is running my son's case, so that to ask for a permit. The head of the division said that the order not to let me to my son 'has come from above'," Elena Barzukaeva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She intends to stay at the city police division around the clock until her demands are met, namely, a medical examination of Islam Barzukaev by experts from Moscow, and a meeting with the Dagestan Public Prosecutor and the Ombudsperson.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 28, 2019 at 08:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.