Khasavyurt (Wikipedia)
A man in the Russian Republic of Daghestan has been tortured into confessing to murder, his lawyer says. Sapiyat Magomedova told OC Media she believes police in the city of Khasavyurt intended to pin other unsolved crimes on her client, Kamil Khayrudinov, as part of a drive to improve crime statistics. [Read more…]
Abutalib Shakhruyev (OC Media)
A man from the Russian Republic of Daghestan has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over torture he says he was subjected to at Daghestan’s Centre for Countering Extremism. Abutalib Shakhruyev was sentenced to 11 years in prison in March for ‘aiding and financing members of illegal armed formations’. [Read more…]
Mirza Subeliani (1TV)
A former official on trial for ‘compromising’ the Khorava Street murder investigation has threatened to release incriminating recordings of senior officials which he claimed could bring down the government, Rustavi 2 has reported. [Read more…]
A Friday prayer at Prison No 10 in Saratov (ansar.ru)
Prisoners from the Caucasus in Russian jails receive a ‘special treatment’ of beatings, bullying, and torture from both prison authorities and their fellow inmates. But in the ‘green zone’ prisons, where Muslim inmates have developed a system of resistance — the North Caucasians are fighting back.
The burnt down administration building in Rutul
Arson charges against four men in the Russian Republic of Daghestan allegedly based on testimony gained under torture have been dropped. The four — who were accused of setting fire to the administration building in the village of Rutul — still face drugs and weapons charges.
The funeral of Yusup Temirkhanov in the Chechen village of Geldagan on 4 August (NIAA Obyektiv /YouTube)
On 3 August, Yusup Temirkhanov, a Chechen convicted of killing an ex–Russian soldier, died in a Russian prison in Siberia. Tens of thousands of people including the head of Chechnya attended Temirkhanov’s funeral, raising questions over Russia’s position in Chechnya, and how Chechens are treated in Russian prisons.
Timur Khamkhoyev the North Caucasian Military Court in Nalchik (Screenshot /Caucasian Knot)
On Friday, former employees of Ingushetia’s Centre for Countering Extremism were sentenced by a court in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. Neither the prosecution nor the defence was satisfied with the verdict, although many activists maintained that sentencing was ‘a huge achievement for human right defenders in the North Caucasus’.
(Council of Europe)
Torture, impunity, and corruption, are ‘endemic’ in Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies and armed forces, according to a report published on Thursday by the Council of Europe (CoE). The report said the institutions were plagued by a ‘generalised culture of violence’ among their staff. [Read more…]
Timur Khamkhoyev (Caucasian Knot /YouTube)
Timur Khamkhoyev, the former head of the Ingush Interior Ministry’s Department for Combating Extremism (Centre E) on trial for torturing suspects has said he is the victim of a political intrigue. Khamkhoyev made the comments in court on Friday in the city of Nalchik, where his trial kicked off in May.
Archil Tatunashvili (RFL/RL)
An autopsy on the remains of Archil Tatunashvili, a Georgian citizen who died in South Ossetian custody in February, says that he suffered over 100 separate injuries before dying. South Ossetia claims that Tatunashvili, whose remains were transferred to Tbilisi almost three months ago, died after falling down a flight of stairs while trying to escape. [Read more…]
