Verdict to employees of Makhachkala SIZO is unique for Dagestan

The sentence to Daud Davydov, the head of the Makhachkala SIZO (pre-trial prison), and his subordinates rendered within the case of extortion and torture is unique for Dagestan and will contribute to the observance of prisoners' rights, journalists have noted.

On February 7, the court sentenced Daud Davydov to eight years in colony; two of his subordinates received 5.5 years of freedom deprivation each for beating up prisoners and extorting money and property.

According to the prosecution, from December 2015 to June 2019, the law enforcers used violence against the arrested person and forced him to re-register the ownership of the land plot and the apartment. They also received bribes from the wife of the arrested person, and money from a local resident for improving the custody conditions of his father; and in February 2019, in collusion with a convict, they stole 3.2 million roubles from an arrested person.

The verdict indicates that no employee of law enforcement bodies is immune from punishment, Magomed Magomedov, a deputy editor-in-chief of the "Chernovik" weekly outlet, believes. He has noted that, although there were complaints about numerous violations at the Makhachkala SIZO, the staff thereof was not held accountable for a long time.

The guilty verdict against the SIZO staff is unique in Dagestan and indicates that "the system is fighting itself," Magdi Kamalov, the founder of the "Chernovik", believes. Torture is used in all power structures, including the SIZO, he has noted.

According to one of the Dagestani advocates, the issue of torture of SIZO detainees in Dagestan is very relevant. He was told about the torture at the Makhachkala SIZO by a convict who had already been released. However, more often those arrested prefer not to report torture, fearing that their conditions at the SIZO could worsen, the advocate believes.