Supyan Baskhanov: "We receive numerous complaints about the use of torture in Chechnya” By Ruslan Isayev
GROZNY, Chechnya – Last week a group of human rights defenders who monitor the conditions in detention facilities arrived in Chechnya.
Representatives of the Committee against Torture, a Russian NGO based in Nizhny Novgorod, were part of the group. Our Prague Watchdog correspondent asked the head of their Chechen branch, Mr. Supyan Baskhanov, about the current situation of detainees in Chechnya.
PW: What are the current conditions of people detained by Chechen law enforcement?
Baskhanov: We receive numerous complaints from citizens about the use of torture against detainees in Chechnya. When we check the complaints, they often prove to be true. When we contact the Prosecutor's Office, it often refuses to initiate criminal prosecution. When we go to the prisons, we can see the signs of torture (bruising, etc.) on the detainee. The Prosecutor's Office again refuses our motion to bring criminal charges. That's what is our work like.
PW: What kind of torture is most frequently used today?
Baskhanov: In Chechnya they use sophisticated torture methods, most frequently involving electricity. Recently we've had five or six complaints of this kind. While earlier they did it with a field telephone, now they use a rectifier, an electric device which converts alternating current to direct current and has adjustable power output.
And what happens to those held in the Vladikavkaz detention center (SIZO) escapes all understanding. Doctors ignore detainees' complaints and lawyers are being denied access to the detainees. Then traces of torture on victims' bodies disappear and crimes are hard to prove. Eventually, authorities write that the complaints have not been confirmed. At the moment, our most active opponent is an interrogator named Gazhiyev, who has worked in Chechnya and now is in Vladikavkaz. Several complains have been filed against him, but he has not been removed from his post.
PW: For what reasons are people being tortured? Is it to get information or is it unmotivated?
Baskhanov: Those who torture do harm not only to us, Chechens, but also to the state. These people are flawed, if not mentally ill. A normal person cannot inflict such physical pain on another person. He must be immoral in order to break someone’s fingers, or subject him to electric shocks until he is foaming at the mouth. Sometimes it seems that the interrogators have been given orders to use any method available, including the most despicable ones.
PW: Are there any statistics on the number of people subjected to torture?
Baskhanov: Eight cases that we investigated have been confirmed. They've passed all checks – by the Prosecutor's Office and by MPs. The best known case is that of Sadykov, whose ear was cut off. All the people involved in that are in the Russian town of Khanty-Mansiysk, and half of them are of higher rank.
Or take the case of a young man, Bashirov, who had been given a conditional sentence, although his full innocence was proven. He was unmercifully tortured when he was a prisoner in the police station in Grozny's Oktyabrsky district.
At its autumn session the [Moscow-backed] Chechen parliament will discuss these issues. The Chechen Prosecutor will have to present a report on torture cases.
PW: What is your relationship with law enforcement?
Baskhanov: There are people who want to help, and when they learn about torture cases, they are near to tears. And then there are people who claim there is no torture in Chechnya.
PW: Who is more engaged in torture: members of federal forces or Chechen forces?
Baskhanov: I don't want to divide them by nationality. It doesn't matter if they are Chechens or Russians. But it is unacceptable if the authorities are not interested in investigating these crimes. Even if we ignore the efforts, or lack thereof, of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and other organizations that are only in pursuit of statistics, the Prosecutor has to ensure compliance with the law. And to take this a step further, then it's the President who, as the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, has to influence the Prosecutor.
PW: What places have you gone to recently?
Baskhanov: We visited a remand prison where all cells were opened for us. Some detainees told about the torture they were subjected to, and some showed us the marks on their bodies. It is crucial to allow outside representatives to enter such places. It seems to me that since the parliamentary commission took charge there has been some reduction in the number of torture cases. However, torture will not disappear until the end of the world. Our task is to fight this evil.
(T/E) RELATED ARTICLES:
· Committee against Torture
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