Today, on 4 February 2015, lawyers of Interregional Non-governmental organization The Committee Against Torture submitted individual report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in order to defend rights and lawful interests of the convicted Anvar Salihkov who is serving time in Nizhny Novgorod penal colony.
(Photo: http://fedpress.ru)
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 man who subsequently died as a result of it.
As the applicant told the human rights defenders, on 26 July 2005 he was detained near Moskovsky District Department of Interior for Nizhny Novgorod by three officers in civilian clothes and taken to the District Department of Interior. There the police officers demanded that he confessed of murder of the 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 two rods, 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 several 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. Being unable to endure the ill-treatment any longer, the detained agreed to write a confession addressed to the Prosecutor to dictation of the police officers.
On the next day, 27 July, the police officers took Salikhov to the municipal hospital No.39 when the man informed a duty doctor that he was beaten by Moscovsky District Police Department police officers. Anvar was diagnosed with «head, body and limbs soft tissue bruises». Numerous injuries were registered in subsequently conducted forensic medical examinations as well.
Salikhov’s relatives applied to the Prosecutor’s Office with complaint against Anvar’s battery by the police officers, however investigators issued four refusals to initiate criminal proceedings. The criminal case was opened only three months after the crime report was submitted. The investigation took almost a year, but in the end it was dismissed. Applying against the investigator’s actions at judicial authorities was to no avail.
On 1 December 2006 Moscovsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod chaired by judge Varlamov issued a verdict according to which Salikhov was found guilty of inflicting a grave health damage to the police officer resulted in negligent homicide. Salikhov was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months prison term in an increased security penal colony.
Lawyer of the Committee Against Torture Sergey Romanov commented the application to the international agency: «In our application we ask the UN Human Rights Committee to recognize the Russian Federation’s violation of its obligations provided by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights against Anvar Salikhov («Freedom from torture») as well to conduct immediate thorough effective investigation of all the complaints against torture and intimidations with regard to the applicant».
«In 2006 we applied with a complaint in the interests of our applicant to the European Court of Human Rights, which, however, dismissed it. Unfortunately, in its decrees the European Court does not inform about the dismissal’s motivation, – explains international law consultant of the Committee Against Torture Ekaterina Vanslova. – The UN Human Rights Committee has less stringent criteria in terms of complaints submittal conditions, but is messages are advisory in nature. It does not award a victim with a specific sum unlike the European Court, however it calls for the state to compensate damage inflicted to the applicant in connection with his rights’ violation, including payment of fair and adequate compensation. The state is also responsible for prevention of such violations in future».