28 March 2007, 22:03
O. Khabibrakhmanov: people in Chechnya are scared to talk about tortures
On February 28, the Committee against Tortures held a joint sitting with the power structures of the Chechen parliament. An outcome of the discussion of the situation by the parliamentary group was an adopted document, which emphasizes the necessity to bring the respective Chechen procuracy employees to strict responsibility for their default of functional duties assuming supervision over precise and rigorous observance of the law in the pre-trial detention facilities.
Oleg Khabibrakhmanov, head of the inter-regional branch of the Committee against Tortures, has informed the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that after adoption document, a service investigation was launched in relation to certain employees of the prosecutor's office and United Armed Forces (UAFs), and employees of the prosecutor's office of the Shali District of Chechnya.
Mr. Khabibrakhmanov has also noted that the Operations and Search Bureau (ORB-2) goes on operating in its usual mode, although this very entity was the main object of criticism by human rights defenders.
In the expert's opinion, the main problem in Chechnya is not in torture usage, but lack of normal legal reaction on the part of the Chechen and United Military Office of Public Prosecutor.
The member of the Committee against Tortures has added that today people in Chechnya fear to make public the facts of being subject to tortures, and when they apply to respective bodies and medical institutions, doctors refuse to document traces of tortures. "People are afraid of everything," the expert asserts.
Author: Alexandra Kondrasheva, CK correspondent
