Gipsy woman tortured in TCF of Volgograd

Ms Yurenko, a Gipsy by nationality, was tortured when kept in the temporary custody facility (TCF) of the city of Volgograd. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by her advocate Tatiana Pavlova, who has described the sufferings of her client.

"She is a young woman and has three children. In 2007, she committed a crime and now is kept in the in the temporary custody facility (TCF) of Volgograd," said the advocate. "On February 5, 2009, I was present at investigatory actions. The inspector presented charges to her. We talked with him about mitigating circumstances, that she has many children, she had repented and was ready to compensate the damage to the victims."

When the advocate remained alone with her client, Yurenko told her, crying, that she was severely beaten by an operative agent. According to the advocate, after the torture Yurenko wanted to commit suicide.

"She was handcuffed, taken up to the fourth floor and placed into an isolated room. Then, the inspector called an operative agent Yuri Lukyanov by name," said Ms Pavlova. "The agent severely beat my client. He suffocated her, pressed his thumbs behind her ears. She lost consciousness. Then, he suffocated her again."

According to Tatiana Pavlova, the operative agent demanded, in rough form and with obscene expressions, from Yurenko to confess of other crimes, which she never committed, as the girl asserts. When she refused to do it, he "undressed her and drove some tool along her left arm."

"Yurenko showed me that groove on her arm. The same wound was also on her back," said Ms Pavlova. "Then, he suffocated her again. When her nose started bleeding, an escort came in and said: 'Enough for her. Stop it,' and took her away."

Advocate Tatiana Pavlova has drawn up a petition to the Deputy Public Prosecutor of the Volgograd Region who is in charge of supervising the operative-search activities with a demand to take measures.

The correspondent was told at the Department for Information and Public Relations of the GUVD (City Department of Internal Affairs) of Volgograd that the comment of the Volgograd TCF's administration can be given only after consideration of Pavlova's petition by the prosecutor's office and careful investigation.