25 October 2023, 23:52
Rights defenders treat arrest of Ingush policemen for using violence against detainee as atypical
In Ingushetia, cases of law enforcers' use of prohibited interrogation methods are frequent, but only single of them are brought to justice. Meantime, in Russia as a whole, not a single sentence has been passed under the article on abuse of power with the use of torture since the article was added to the Criminal Code, human rights defenders have noted.
On October 20, investigators announced the detention of four policemen suspected within a criminal case of abuse of power with the use of violence.
According to investigators, on October 5, four employees of the Malgobek ROVD (District Interior Division) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) unjustifiably detained a 31-year-old local resident and used violence against him, demanding from him to confess to involvement in drug dealing. Investigators also believe that the policemen had extorted money from the detainee.
The law enforcers' goal was most likely to obtain a confession of committing a crime, Sergey Babinets, the head of the "Team against Torture" (TaT)*. According to his version, in general in Russia, holding law enforcers accountable for torture is a rare occurrence.
Magomed Mutsolgov, the head of the "Mashr" human rights organization, has treated this case as exceptional. "Unfortunately, the law enforcers who use violence against citizens and commit other crimes often escape legal punishment," he has stated.
As an example, Mutsolgov cited the case of Timur Khamkhoev, the head of the Centre to Combat Extremism (Centre "E"), and his subordinates. "They tortured Magomed Doliev, and he died. But, despite all the Dolievs' complaints, the policemen were not brought to justice," Mr Mutsolgov has explained, adding that there are "a lot of facts of torture in Ingushetia." "Many people left the country because of torture and injustice, this is very offensive. Remember Albert Khamkhoev, who after torture returned to sports and became a champion," he has concluded.
*The "Team against Torture" (TaT, formerly the "Committee against Torture" – CaT) was created by the lawyers who had earlier worked for the CaT, which was included into the register of the NCOs performing the functions of foreign agents.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 24, 2023 at 10:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: СK correspondent
