Chechnya: Those Accused of the Explosion Were Beaten and Ordered to Confess
Human Rights Center Memorial
Chechnya: Those Accused of the Explosion Were Beaten and Ordered to Confess
On June 4, 2012 Aset Umakhovna Borchashvili, born in 1969, who temporarily lives in Assinovskaya village of Sunzhenskiy district of Chechnya, applied to the office of Human Rights Center "Memorial" in Grozny, Chechnya. According to her, on April 17, 2012, at about 6:50 a.m., she heard the sound of the explosion, which she first took to be thunder. Her son, Yusup Vakhaevich Ektumaev, born in 1993, was awakened by the noise and asked his mother what it was. Aset Umahovna told him that it was thunder, and he went to sleep again.
Two hours later Borchashvili learned that after the explosion a police check took place in the village. Employees of Sunzhenskiy police department took the village resident Mahmud Madaev away. Also, according to Borchashvili, on the Bakin street two young men were detained who were soon released. Aset feared for her sons. The eldest son was with relatives. Aset tried to persuade Yusup to go to their relatives too when checks were being carried out, but he refused.
The same evening, employees of security forces came to their house. They told Aset they had questions for her youngest son. At that time Yusup was not at home, and they went away. When Ektumaev returned, his mother began to question whether he knew anything about the explosion, whether he was doing something illegal. Yusup said that he had done nothing wrong and was ready to go to the police department immediately. The same evening, Aset and Yusup went to the police station, where the head of the administration of Assinovskaya village Nazarbek Terkhoev was waiting for them. Yusup Imaev began to accuse Yusup of involvement in the explosion. Proof of this, according to Imaev, were recognition of arrested Mahmud Madaev. Yusup denied his guilt. He said that in early spring he was in the woods with his friends to dig wild garlic for sale and met six unknown armed men there. They welcomed Yusup and his companions. Returning home, he told his mother about this, and she forbade him to go into the woods. A few days later anonymous caller accused Yusup of insulting his sister. Yusup said that this was a misunderstanding, but he demanded a meeting. Yusup went to a meeting to a neighboring village. There, at the appointed place he was meet by some men, but the conversation was about something completely different. They tried to persuade him to join the ranks of illegal armed units. Yusup refused, but the strangers did not leave him and asked to buy them a cell phone. He agreed on the condition that they would not bother him any more. When he learned that his friend Madaev was going to Grozniy, he asked him to buy a mobile phone. Mahmud, who did not know why Yusup needed the phone, complied with the request. According to Ektumaev, he gave the 'customers' the telephone and did not see them any more.
According to investigators, this is the phone which was used in the explosion. Meeting with prospective members of illegal armed units and purchasing a phone for them was the reason for the charges of Ektumaev with aiding militants.
According to Aset, the head of the Sunzhenskiy Department of MIA was shouting at her son, saying that he will prove the guilt of Yusup. The woman and the head of the administration were asked to leave the office. Half an hour later Aset was invited back. The chief was shouting at her, said her son had "confessed to everything" and, moreover, admitted that he hid the bomb in his backyard. According to Aset, her son looked frightened, he had tears in his eyes, his hair was tousled. She asked whether he had been beaten. He nodded. Imaev kept shouting at her, and threatened to send her out of the office.
Then the employees of security forces went into Aset's house to carry out searches, which were videotaped. According to her, they found a black plastic bag in the garden. The siloviks have shown it and said that there was a bomb. She was set aside and the package was exploded.
Aset claims that she was given a blank inspection form, but she refused to sign it.
A month later, she met with Yusup in the temporary detention center at the MIA in Chechnya, Grozny. He said that he was tortured and forced to prove his guilt. According to him, other defendants in the case of the explosion were also tortured - M. Madaev and K. Karsamov. Aset Borchashvili says her son is accused under Part 3. 222 (illegal purchase, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of weapons, its main parts, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices), Part 2. 208 (organization of an illegal armed formation or participation therein), Part 1. 30 (preparation of a crime), Article 317 (attempt on the life of a law enforcement agency employee) of the Criminal Code of RF.
An employee of the HRC "Memorial" has met with the family of Madaev. According to them, on the day of the explosion, Mahmud went to work, he worked at private construction sites. But in the morning there was heavy rainy, and the man returned home. After some time armed men in camouflage uniforms raided into his house. Some of them spread out in the yard, other men came into the room. Without explaining anything they took Mahmud and his younger brother to the police station in Sunzhenskiy district. There, according to Mahmud, they were beaten and tortured. One of the security forces employees put a gun to his younger brother's head and threatened to shoot him, if Mahmud brothers did not surrender and confess their involvement in the explosion. Mahmud was also ordered to confess his involvement in other terroristic attacks. Several officers tortured him using electric shocks, put a bag on his head and strangled him. Several times Mahmud lost consciousness. Unable to withstand the torture, he said he would sign the necessary documents, but the beatings continued. According to Mahmud, the same evening Ektumaev was brought there. The young people were in one room; between them was only a partition. The torture continued for several hours. On the second day, Mahmud could not stand on his legs, his body was covered with bruises, his toes were broken. The law enforcement officers laughed at him and said that he could bear one more day of torture. The torture and beating continued even after the signing of the confession.
Relatives of Kemran Karsamov appealed to the HRC "Memorial" with a statement. They reported that on April 17 employees of Sunzhenskiy police department, without explanation, took Kemran's brother, Imran Karsamov, born in 1991, away from the house. He was taken away from the house of his uncle, where he was spending the night. The next evening, Imran was released, and Kemran was accused of involvement in the explosion. His mother was allowed to meet with him only a month later. Kemran said he did not have any relation to the explosion, but incriminated himself under torture and signed a confession. At the police station, he met Yusup Ektumaev and on his body there were visible marks of beatings. He advised Kemran to do everything that is required by law enforcement officers to save himself.
According to his mother, Kemran intends to refuse evidence obtained from him under torture.
Madaev's lawyer claims that she saw the signs of torture and beatings on the bodies of three young men. She insisted on carrying out forensic examinations. Ektumaev refused the services provided by the assigned lawyer. In addition, Ektumaev and Madaev refused the testimony given under torture and gave new ones, which detailed the violent methods of interrogation.
Madaev, Ektumaev and Karsamov refuse being involved in the explosion. They believe that their arrest was connected with a phone conversation two days before the explosion: Madaev phoned Ektumaev and said that the "butchers" had come and they must be "defeated." He said the same thing to Karsamov by telephone. (The fact is that the young people often played football, and called the opposing team "butchers" because they played hard and there were injuries during the match). Yusup and Mahmud went to play football and Kemran refused, as he had something to do in the house. During the interrogation, police department employees mentioned these conversations, arguing that by "butchers" the defendants meant employees of law enforcement agencies and talked of the impending explosion.
June 21, 2012