Kabardino-Balkaria: Siloviks Threatened the Suspect With Death
Human Rights Center Memorial
Kabardino-Balkaria: Siloviks Threatened the Suspect With Death
During the torture, they said that if the man is not convicted, they will kill him themselves
A resident of Prokhladniy town in Kabardino-Balkaria Nuraed B. Erizhokov, born in 1983, appealed to "Memorial" Human Rights Center. He claims that on April 7, 2012, at approximately 11:00 am he was detained by police of Prokhladniy. He was driving in the direction of the car market when his path was blocked by unknown masked men in camouflage uniforms and civilian clothes. They pulled him out of the car, ordered to raise his hands and not to move, and started searching the car. Nuraed stood like that for about 20 minutes. According to Erizhokov, this time one of the people in the mask put some heavy objects in Erizhokov’s pockets while pretending that he is searching him. After that Erizhokov was told to get the money out of his pocket. Nuraed put his hands into his pockets and touched the planted objects leaving his fingerprints on them. A few minutes later, the police officers seized a fuse and a grenade from his pockets. They invited witnesses who refused to perform their duties and left soon. Then the police called other witnesses. Nuraed heard that there was a conversation in a raised voice between the witnesses and the police.
The policemrn threatened Erizhokov that "if he is not convicted, they will kill him themselves." In witnesses’ presence the police have filled some documents. Then they put Erizhokov in the car, put on his head a black plastic bag, tied around his head with tape and drove him to the police department of the Dolinsk town of KBR, where as Erizhokov remembers he was brought a year and a half ago. In the police office the officers knocked Erizhokov on the floor, attached wires to his hands and began to let an electric current. During the breaks he was interrogated and required to admit complicity in the illegal armed groups and weapons possession. "I do not know how many hours the torture continued, I was screaming because of pain. I was not allowed to drink water, as one of the staff said that I could die of this because my body was passed through an electric current. I was very thirsty, "- writes Erizhokov in his appeal. According to him, unable to bear the torture, he signed some documents. "The police told me that if I sign, I will be given a suspended sentence, because I have three young children and the sick liver. After that, I felt a strong pain in the heart, and they brought me medicine. One of the officers said: "Let’s stop or he will die here," – Nuraed remembers.
N. Erizhokov is in temporary detention center of Prokhladniy, and is suspected under Part 1 of Art. 222 (illegal purchase, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of weapons, its main parts, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices) of the Russian Criminal Code. He states that there are some traces of torture and beatings on his body, but he did not report it to detention center staff fearing a repetition of torture.
On April 12, lawyer Elena Bayramkulova with whom Erizhokov’s relatives concluded an agreement, submitted a petition for a forensic medical examination of her client, but it was refused. She plans to fill the same request to the court to which the case has been transferred.
In the statement N. Erizhokov asks for restore of his violated rights.
May 2, 2012