The Prosecutor’s Office of the Chechen Republic has sent an official letter to the NN Committee Against Torture, which was a reply to the appeal made by activists of the Committee’s Office in

Chechnya. They asked to initiate investigation in respect of certain officials form the Shalinsky District Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic.

    These officials, namely A. Buramensky, acting prosecutor, and Sh. Khamidov, deputy prosecutor, as it became known, acted in contravention of law considering appeals of CAT in respect of some cases which were being publicly investigated by the Chechen Office. 

    After the investigation the prosecution officials were subjected to disciplinary penalties and acting prosecutor of Shalinsky District to a material penalty.

    The Committee Against Torture has always claimed that problems, connected with coercion by law-enforcement bodies in respect of citizens, are mainly caused by breaches of law made by prosecution officials. It seems evident that it is impossible to effectively combat torture provided that there are common infringements of legal norms by those, whose duty is to supervise of the observance of the law.

     Until the situation in the prosecution system alongside Russia, including the Chechen Republic, is changed for the better, we cannot speak about observance of international legal norms and the Constitution in Russia.

     In this regard CAT welcomes the decision of the Chechnya Regional Prosecutor’s Office to punish its remiss officials. We hope, it will teach other prosecution officials, who misconduct, act in contravention of law and discredit the Prosecution of the Russian Federation, a lesson.