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Police Torture in Russia
Human Rights Watch
New York A Washington A London A Brussels
Copyright © November 1999 Human Rights Watch.
All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Human Rights Watch conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some seventy countries around the world. Our reputation for timely, reliable disclosures has made us an essential source of information for those concerned with human rights. We address the human rights practices of governments of all political stripes, of all geopolitical alignments, and of all ethnic and religious persuasions. Human Rights Watch defends freedom of thought and expression, due process and equal protection of the law, and a vigorous civil society; we document and denounce murders, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, discrimination, and other abuses of internationally recognized human rights. Our goal is to hold governments accountable if they transgress the rights of their people.
Human Rights Watch began in 1978 with the founding of its Europe and Central Asia division (then known as Helsinki Watch). Today, it also includes divisions covering Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. In addition, it includes three thematic divisions on arms, children's rights, and women's rights. It maintains offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, London, Brussels, Moscow, Dushanbe, Rio de Janeiro, and Hong Kong. Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.
The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive director; Michele Alexander, development director; Reed Brody, advocacy director; Carroll Bogert, communications director; Barbara Guglielmo, finance director; Jeri Laber special advisor; Lotte Leicht, Brussels office director; Patrick Minges, publications director; Susan Osnos, associate director; Maria Pignataro Nielsen, human resources director; Jemera Rone, counsel; Wilder Tayler, general counsel; and Joanna Weschler, United Nations representative. Jonathan Fanton is the chair of the board. Robert L. Bernstein is the founding chair.
The regional directors of Human Rights Watch are Peter Takirambudde, Africa; José Miguel Vivanco, Americas; Sidney Jones, Asia; Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia; and Hanny Megally, Middle East and North Africa. The thematic division directors are Joost R. Hiltermann, arms; Lois Whitman, children's; and Regan Ralph, women's.
The members of the board of directors are Jonathan Fanton, chair; Lisa Anderson, Robert L. Bernstein, David M. Brown, William Carmichael, Dorothy Cullman, Gina Despres, Irene Diamond, Adrian W. DeWind, Fiona Druckenmiller, Edith Everett, Michael E. Gellert, Vartan Gregorian, Alice H. Henkin, James F. Hoge, Stephen L. Kass, Marina Pinto Kaufman, Bruce Klatsky, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Josh Mailman, Yolanda T. Moses, Samuel K. Murumba, Andrew Nathan, Jane Olson, Peter Osnos, Kathleen Peratis, Bruce Rabb, Sigrid Rausing, Orville Schell, Sid Sheinberg, Gary G. Sick, Malcolm Smith, Domna Stanton, and Maya Wiley. Robert L. Bernstein is the founding chair of Human Rights Watch.
This report is based on almost two years of research that began in July 1997. During that time, Diederik Lohman, director of Human Rights Watch's Moscow office, Alexander Petrov, deputy director of the Moscow office, and Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division, conducted fact-finding missions in Irkutsk and Nizhnii Novgorod provinces as well in the cities of Arkhangel'sk, Novgorod, St. Petersburg, and Ekaterinburg. In addition, considerable research was carried out in Moscow. The report was written by Diederik Lohman and edited by Rachel Denber; Mike McClintock, deputy program director; and Dinah PoKempner, deputy general counsel. Additional editorial comments were provided by Elizabeth Andersen, advocacy director, Europe and Central Asia division. Invaluable assistance was provided by Liudmila Belova, associate for the Moscow office; Alex Frangos, coordinator for the Europe and Central Asia division; Alexandra Perina and Natasha Zaretsky, associates for the Europe and Central Asia division; Meredith Moss-Quinn and Amy Bramley, interns for the Moscow office; and Patrick Minges, publications director, Human Rights Watch.
We are deeply grateful to torture victims who agreed to retell their traumatic and painful stories. We extend a special thanks to the numerous human rights defenders and organizations in Russia's regions, without whom this report would not have been possible. In particular, we thank Igor Kaliapin and Sergei Shimovolos of the Nizhnii Novgorod Society for Human Rights; Anna Pastukhova and Petr Diakonov of the Memorial Society, in Ekaterinburg; Sergei Kuznetsov of the Public Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Detainees, in Ekaterinburg; Alexander Liuboslavskii of the Alexander Liuboslavskii Public Charitable Fund for the Defense of Human Rights, in Irkutsk; Nina Davydovskaia of the Novgorod Regional Center for Human Rights; Galina Dundina of the Human Rights Center of Arkhangel'sk Province and all those other regional activists who put us in contact with torture victims, their relatives and lawyers, and local authorities, and who gave us invaluable insights relating to their own experiences working with torture victims.
We also thank the numerous experts on torture, prisons, Russian criminal law, law enforcement practices, and other topics. In particular, we thank Valerii Abramkin and Liudmila Al'pern of the Moscow Center for Prison Reform; Andrei Babushkin of the Committee for Civil Rights; Sergei Ezhov of the Society for Assistance to the Convicted; Svetlana Gannushkina of the Memorial Human Rights Center; Judge Vasilii Martyshkin of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Mordovia; Karina Moskalenko of the International Protection Center; Rein Odink of the Amsterdam City Court; Andrei Savchenko and Alexander Sokolov of the Memorial Human Rights Center in Moscow; Elena Topil'skaia of the Leningradprovince procuracy; and Olga Tretiakova of the Pravda severa newspaper in Arkhangel'sk.
Human Rights Watch is profoundly grateful to the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John Merck Fund, and the Moriah Fund for their generous support of our work on Russia and of our Moscow office; and to the J.M. Kaplan Fund, which made possible the translation of this report.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY 1
Torture 1
Accountability 4
Lack of Redress 6
Cycle of Abuse 7
RECOMMENDATIONS 9
To the Russian authorities 9
On the Matter of Acknowledging and Preventing Torture and Establishing the Rule of Law 9
On the Matter of Reforming the Criminal Justice System 12
On the Matter of Accountability 13
To the International Community 15
The United Nations 15
The Council of Europe 15
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 16
The European Union 17
The U.S. Government 18
A PERSISTENT PATTERN OF TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT 20
The Methodology of Torture 21
Sustained Beatings 24
"Slonik" and Plastic Bags 28
Electroshock 32
Suspension and Trussing 33
Torture by Proxy 35
Threats of Violence 39
MEDICAL EVIDENCE OF TORTURE 43
Access to a Forensic Expert 44
Access to a Medical Doctor for Former Detainees 46
Detainees' Access to Medical Doctors 48
Death in Custody or Permanent Physical Damage 50
THE DETENTION PROCESS 54
Informal Detentions 57
Detention on Administrative Charges 59
Torture and Ill-treatment at the Time of Detention 62
Access to Lawyers 63
TORTURE AND CONFESSION EVIDENCE 68
The Process of Securing Confessions 68
Reliance on Confession Evidence 71
Judicial Refusal to Exclude Coerced Confessions 75
THE VICTIMS 78
Minors 78
Oleg Fetisov, Ekaterinburg 79
Igor Afon'kin, Baikal'sk, Irkutsk province 80
Aleksei Alekseev, Ekaterinburg 81
Women 82
THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 85
Prohibition and Criminalization of Torture and Ill-Treatment 85
Forced Confessions in Court/The Right not to Testify against Oneself 88
Investigation of Torture Allegations 89
Redress and Compensation 91
HOLDING RUSSIA TO ITS INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS 94
United Nations 94
Committee against Torture 94
Special Rapporteur on Torture 95
Ill-treatment and Coercion to Confess 95
Detention Policies, Court Review, and Length of Detention 96
Conditions in Detention 97
Recommendations 98
Council of Europe 98
Parliamentary Assembly Monitoring Procedure 98
Committee for the Prevention of Torture 100
Directorates for Human Rights and Legal Affairs 101
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 101
European Union and Member States 101
United States of America 102
CRISIS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 103
The Police Force 103
Personnel, Recruitment, and Turnover 104
Material Difficulties and Workload 106
Police Extortion and Violence 107
The Procuracy 108
The Judiciary 110
The Legal Profession 111
STALLED REFORM 112
Institutional Reform 112
Problems Reforming the Procuracy 113
Reforms of the Judiciary 114
Pressure to Convict 118
Crime Policy Reform 122
Absence of Public Monitoring over Places of Detention 126
A Predisposition to Brutal Methods 127
ACCOUNTABILITY 131
The Procuracy Inquiry 131
Superficiality 132
Delays 137
Criminal Investigation and Court Action 139
The Case of Vitalii Sokolov (Nizhnii Novgorod province) 140
The Case of the Timofei Petrov 141
The Case of Oleg Fetisov 142
The Case of Sergei Kolosovskii 143
The Case of Mikhail Sobolev 144
The Case of Andrei Getsko 145
Convictions 146
The Case of Oleg Igonin 147
Complaints to the Russian Ombudsman 148
Compensation for Damage 150
Fear as a Deterrent to Complaints 150
RUSSIA'S OFFICIAL REACTION TO TORTURE 153
President and Presidential Structures 153
Ministry of Internal Affairs 154
Procuracy General 157
State Duma 159
APPENDIX A: UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE 160
Excerpts from the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 160
Concluding Observations on Russia's Second Periodic Report to the U.N. Committee against Torture 161
APPENDIX B: EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE AND INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT 166
Excerpts from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture 166
The Committee's November 1998 Visit 168
The Committee's September 1999 Visit 170
APPENDIX C: LETTER FROM RUSSIA'S OMBUDSMANTO THE MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS 173
APPENDIX D: RESPONSE FROM THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR TO RUSSIA'S OMBUDSMAN 176
APPENDIX E: DECISION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL HUMAN RIGHTS CHAMBER OF APRIL 7, 1998 179
APPENDIX F: SEPARATE RULING OF SUPREME COURT JUDGE VASILII MARTYSHKIN ON TORTURE IN MORDOVIA 182