Human rights defenders get insulting response from address of Chechen parliament chair Daudov

The “Team Against Torture”* received responses to 37 out of 68 letters with a study on torture in Northern Caucasus sent to representatives of the authorities and the law enforcement bodies. The letter, which was sent to Magomed Daudov, the chair of the Chechen parliament, was sent back, with an insulting note attached.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the “Team Against Torture”* pointed out that in 87% of cases, a complaint about torture results in a decision to refuse to institute a criminal case.

The human rights defenders received responses from 37 recipients. One of the copies sent to Magomed Daudov, the chair of the Chechen parliament, returned with an anonymous note attached. “Your team is a perverted community of figures who sold their souls to Satan in the face of the State Department for thirty pieces of silver! For this reason, go to hell, corrupt skins!” the note states.

The answers came from two leaders of the republics of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD). Rashid Temrezov, the leader of Karachay-Cherkessia, notes that all measures are being taken in the republic to comply with constitutional rights. Kazbek Kokov, the leader of Kabardino-Balkaria, states that “torture is a gross violation of human rights, and it is banned unconditionally.”

The Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) assures that they are constantly working to prevent ill-treatment by the police.

When commenting on the answer received by the human rights defenders from the Magomed Daudov’s office, Ekaterina Vanslova, a lawyer of the “Team Against Torture”*, emphasized that “Article 21 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation prohibits torture and other degrading treatment.” “It turns out that the anonymous sender from Chechnya is insulting the human rights defenders who are fighting torture and defending the constitutional rights, including in Chechnya,” Ekaterina Vanslova noted.

*The “Committee Against Torture” was included in the register of NCOs acting as foreign agents. The lawyers who previously worked for the “Committee Against Torture” (CaT) created the “Team Against Torture”.