Amnesty International: Torture and ill-treatment in the Chechen Republic
In the statement of 10
July 2003 the CPT assessed that there is a
continued resort to torture and other forms of ill-treatment by
members of
the law enforcement agencies and federal forces operating in the Chechen
Republic, and that
action taken to bring to justice those responsible has
proved largely unproductive.
"The CPT has
sent a clear and unequivocal message to the Russian
authorities to make a formal commitment to end human
rights violations such
as torture, ill-treatment and 'disappearances' committed by law
enforcement
officials in the Chechen Republic, and to bring to justice those
responsible for such abuses,"
the human rights organization said.
In its statement, the CPT identified measures needed to be taken
by
the Russian Federation authorities. They include a formal statement from
the highest political level
denouncing ill-treatment by members of the
federal forces and law enforcement agencies in the Chechen
Republic.
Amnesty International calls upon the Russian authorities to act
promptly upon the
recommendations suggested in the public statement of the
CPT, and take immediate steps to ensure that law
enforcement agencies and
security forces respect human rights at all times. The Russian authorities
must
also ensure that those who will violate these rights will be made to
answer in a court of law.
"Amnesty International recently welcomed the decision of the Russian
government to authorize the publication
of one of the CPT reports following
its visits to the Russian Federation. We hope that the Russian
authorities
will continue their cooperation with the Committee and fulfil their
commitment to respect the
dignity and humanity of people deprived of their
liberty in the Russian Federation," the organization
added.
The organization strongly urges the Russian government to:
Take all necessary
measures to implement all CPT's recommendations
without delay;
Make public the reports of all the
CPT's visits to the Russian
Federation;
Inform the public about measures it is taking to implement
the CPT's
recommendations.
Background
It is only on exceptional occasions that the CPT releases
public
statements regarding its concerns in a particular country. The lack of
response to its
recommendations relating to the Chechen Republic from the
Russian government first prompted the CPT to take
this exceptional step in
relation to the Russian Federation in July 2001. That statement expressed
the
CPT's concern about the impasse it had reached with the Russian
Federation on two issues, namely the
carrying out of a thorough and
independent inquiry into events in a detention facility at
Chernokozovo
detention centre during the period December 1999 to early February 2000,
following
information strongly indicating that many detainees had been
ill-treated; and action taken to uncover and
prosecute cases of
ill-treatment of detainees in the Chechen Republic during the current
conflict. CPT
delegations have so far made 11 visits to different regions
of the country. Six of these visits, including
the last one between 23 and
29 May 2003, have been to the Chechen Republic.
The Russian
Federation became a party to the European Convention for
the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
in 1998. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman
or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), established by the Convention,
is comprised of independent and
impartial experts, whose visits and
recommendations aim to protect detainees from torture, cruel and
inhuman
treatment. The reports of CPT visits and recommendations are confidential:
they can be published
only with the consent of the government in question.
The Russian Federation was the last of the
states parties to the
European Convention Against Torture to authorize the publication of one of
the
CPT's reports. (EUR 46/059/2003)