You may remember that in late November 2007 the INGO Committee Against Torture filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights under the case of Olga Gavrilova who has been kept in a Nizhny Novgorod SIZO (pretrial detention center) since August 2007.

    The complaint of the Committee to the European Court states that the arrest of Olga Gavrilova, who is mentally deficient and has a serious medical condition, can be considered as inhuman treatment in itself. Lawyers of the Committee emphasized the seriousness of the situation and requested the Court to give priority to the complaint of Ms Gavrilova.

    The European Court paid attention to the Committee’s request and took great interest in the girl’s conditions of detention in detention facility IZ-52/1. In this connection the European Court, in accordance with the Rules of Court, invited the Russian authorities to submit additional information concerning this case until 10 January 2008. Now, the government is to inform the Court about the detention conditions of Olga Gavrilova.    

    Lawyers of the Committee Against Torture believe that the arrest of Olga Gavrilova is unjustified and does not comply with the Russian Criminal Procedure Code.