The Committee Against Torture obliged Russia to conduct an effective investigation of the torture complaint submitted by a resident of Nizhny Novgorod in 2005

News

31 January 2022

Lawyers with the Committee Against Torture received a ruling with the Human Rights Committee in the case of Anvar Salikhov. It states that in 2005 Anvar was subjected to police torture and the Russian law-enforcement bodies did not perform an effective investigation on its application. Now Russia has to perform a new investigation, provide Anvar a compensation for the inflicted damage, take up measures to prevent the reoccurrence of such cases and report to Human Rights Committee within 180 days. 

Anvar Salihkov applied to the Committee Against Torture for legal assistance in 2005. According to the applicant the police officers using torture obtained his confession of involvement in collective battery of internal affairs agency officer.

According to Anvar, in attempt to force confession from him the police officers tied him in an “envelope”: tied his hands from behind, tied his feet with a rope which they stretched in front through the neck to his hands and passed through handcuffs. Then in the same position he was hanged on the bar positioned on a rod, by threading the bar through his arms. After that they started to hit different parts of his body. During the battery the man passed out three times. In order to bring him to senses the police officers poured water on him and slapped him in the face. From time to time he was taken from the bar and beaten lying on the floor.

On the next day, the police officers took the victim to hospital. Anvar was diagnosed with head, body and limbs soft tissue bruises.

The investigators issued three refusals to initiate criminal proceedings with regard to inflicting bodily harm to Anvar. As a result, the criminal case was opened only three months after the crime report was submitted. However, in a year the investigation was dismissed. The Committee Against Torture lawyers’ applying against this ruling at court but to no avail.

In 2006, Anvar was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months’ prison term in an increased security penal colony inflicting a grave health damage resulted in negligent homicide.

— Since Russia is participating in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the norms of which were violated in this case, it is obliged to remedy the violations, — lawyer with the Committee Against Torture Yuliya Osipova comments. — In our turn, we shall apply to the Russian authorities with a demand to conduct an effective investigation of Salikhov’s torture complaint. However, we realize that it is impossible to achieve the desired result after 15 years.

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