Relatives of North-Ossetian prisoners serving their terms in Kalmykia ask to return them home

The relatives of the inmates of the Colony "IK-1 Salyn" in Kalmykia have turned to the leader of North Ossetia asking to help in transferring them home for further serving their sentences. According to the relatives, at the colony, natives of North Ossetia are regularly "becoming victims of personnel's illegitimate actions and abuses."

On December 10, relatives of the inmates of the IK-1 in Kalmykia met Valery Tsomartov, the ombudsman under the head of North Ossetia, as Elina Marzoeva, and activist from Vladikavkaz, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her story, relatives of the inmates sent their appeals to Taimuraz Mamsurov, the head of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (RNO-A) and ex-president of the Republic of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity. The appeals read that the inmates of the Ossetian nationality kept at the IK-1 in the city of Elista (the township of Salyn), "are permanent victims of illegal actions and abuses from the colony personnel."

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported with reference to inmates' relatives that on December 4, in Colony "IK-1 Salyn", when another group of convicts arrived there, about 20 prisoners-natives of Northern Caucasus were beaten. Earlier, Nina Efremova, an activist of the International Public Movement "Unity", reported about a mass beating of inmates in Colony " IK-1 Salyn" at night on November 2. Then, in protest, some inmates cut up their veins and others committed acts of self-ignition. The UFSIN of Kalmykia denied the fact of beating, but confirmed that several persons had committed acts of self-mutilation.