Committee for the Prevention of Torture (Russia)

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture (INGO-CAT; Russian: Комите́т по предотвраще́нию пы́ток, founded as Committee Against Torture) is a Russian non-governmental organization. Established in 2000, it investigates allegations of torture by state agents, provides victims of torture with medical psychological support, and represents them at the national level and before the European Court of Human Rights in cases where domestic remedies are ineffective. Based on its casework and research, it publishes information on systemic obstacles to effective investigation and prosecution of torture in Russia.

Committee for the Prevention of Torture
Комитет по предотвращению пыток
Formation2000 (2000)
TypeNon-profit
NGO
HeadquartersNizhny Novgorod with representations in Chechnya, Mariy El and Bashkortostan
Location
FieldsInvestigation of torture allegations, medical and legal support for torture victims, representation of victims in court
Key people
Igor Kalyapin
Websitepytkam.net
Formerly called
Committee Against Torture (Continued in reduced capacity as Committee for the Prevention of Torture)

History

The start of the Committee can be traced to the December 1997 report “Torture in Nizhegorodskaya Oblast” [«Доклад о применении пыток на территории Нижегородской области»] created by the analysts of human rights society of Nizhny Novgorod.[1] The report was prepared in order to convince the public prosecutor’s office to take action against systematic unlawful excesses of the law enforcement. The authors found that the report did not achieved this goal.[2] The lack of official reaction inspired the creation of a stand-alone organisation (the Committee Against Torture) under the leadership of Igor Kalyapin (one of the co-authors of the initial report). The first result in court was achieved in 2001. The court has found a Nizhny Novgorod police detective A.G. Ivanov guilty of torture. The detective has tortured underage Maxim Prosvirov to testify against his brother. Ivanov received six years of suspended sentence. The Committee managed to insist on the real sentence only in 2004. In this case the chief of criminal investigation unit of Bolschoy Boldino police department colonel I.A. Chetverikov was found guilty of battering. On 26th of January 2006 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued the judgement on the Mikheyev v. Russia case. This was the first ever decision of ECtHR on the appeal made by the Committee. Also it was the first decision of ECtHR ruling against Russia in which the court has recognized that Russian state is responsible for torture.[3] The Committee promoted its public investigation approach while supporting such investigations by human rights activists in other regions of Russia as early as 2001. In Orenburg oblast, Bashkir republic, Marij-El republic and Chechnya local offices of the Committee were established afterwards. In 2007 the Committee was officially recognized as a multi-region present NGO.[4] Nowadays the Committee is present in six regions of Russia: Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg oblast, Bashkir republic, Marij-El republic, Chechnya and (since 2014) Moscow.[5] The normal operation of the Committee in Chechnya was obstructed several times.[6] In 2014 the Grozny office was set on fire and the employees were searched.[7] During June of 2015 the Grozny office, the apartment where activists of the Joint Mobile Group lived and their car were attacked during a protest. The protesters demanded to start investigation of the murder of Djambulat Dadaev, who was killed in a raid of Stavropol police conducted in Chechnya.[8] In January 2015 the Committee was designated as a foreign agent by the Ministry of Justice (Russia).[9][10] Members of the Committee have unsuccessfully appealed to the court to revoke this designation.[11] The Committee was disbanded and all the activity was transferred to the “Committee on Torture Prevention” which had been created before in Orenburg in 2014 and was headed by Igor Kalyapin as well. However, in 2017 this new organisation was also registered as a foreign agent and was also consequently disbanded. Then a new organisation with the original name was started.[12] Nowadays the Committee against Torture is unregistered cross-regional organisation.

Goals and Methods

About the attitude to torture in Russia

Those problems are not just problems of the state but problems of the society also. From time to time we carry out a poll “What do you think about torture?”. Roughly a half of people we ask “Is it Ok to torture?”, they answer: “It depends. If it is a crook or a gangster then why not? Otherwise he would not confess”. What would one expect from the police and the Investigative Committee while people on the streets answer like this? Igor Kalyapin[13]

The Committee conducts public investigations of incidents of torture, of dehumanising or humiliating behaviour; represents applicants in front of investigative authorities and in courts; assists with receiving of restitutions and, finally, conducts medical rehabilitation of torture victims when necessary.[14] The main goal of the Committee is to carry out investigations of torture cases and following-up those cases to insure the perpetrators are punished.[15] The Committee understands a public investigation as a major obstacle for an official investigation of torture being put “on hold” or outright dismissed by the Russian authorities.[15] The main principles of public investigations are protection of common interest and involvement of national instead of international protection institutions. The principle of protection of common interest: an organisation which coordinates public investigation does not represent a single person (the victim of torture or of a human rights violation), but instead represents the common interest. The committee is not taking the responsibility to protect the victim if the victim decides later on to bargain with suspects or their representatives. Moreover, if the Committee has collected compelling evidence of torture it may not only insist on the prosecution of the perpetrators but also on the prosecution of the victim for perjury and for crime cover-up.[16] The principle of involvement of national instead of international protection mechanisms: the main efforts of a public investigation are focused on the national governments human rights protection institutions. The idea is to force those institutions to work efficiently and in accordance with law. An appeal to the international institutions is consider as a last resort, worthwhile only if all the national possibilities were exhausted.[13] When dealing with mass or systematic cases of human rights violations the Committee creates Joint Mobile Groups. In these groups members of various human rights organisations from different areas conduct public investigation on the spot [17][18]

Results

Since 2000 (founding of the Committee) till March 2019 more than 2000 complaints of human rights violations were processed by the Committee. As a result of legal activities of the organisation 189 cases of torture were proved in courts, more than 140 law enforcement employees were convicted, restitutions totalling more than 70 million roubles (about 1milion USD) were adjudged to the victims, 885 illegal court decisions were revoked and 36 legal cases were won in ECtHR.[19]

Mikheyev v. Russia case

Mikheyev was falsely accused of murder and tortured by electricity. To avoid the torture he jumped from a third floor and broke his back. In 2006 ECtHR has awarded Mikheyev 250,000 Euro in damages.

Blagoveshchensk Zachistka

The Blagoveshchensk mass beating is a term for a four-day zachistka operation by local OMON in Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan from December 10, 2004 to December 14, 2004. During this operation police were forcefully entering homes and public buildings and conducted violent arrests.[20] According to official reports 341 people were abused, while according to NGO’s in total more than 1000 people were detained and 200 more were beat-up on the spot (without being brought to the city main police station).[21] Activist of the Committee investigated the incident right after the news has reached general public. A Joint Mobile Groups was sent. This group as well as other activists managed to collect evidence of all the above mentioned crimes and initiated criminal investigations against perpetrators while affording legal help to the victims.[22] During the trial some of the employees of the central police station of Blagoveschensk were convicted. They received suspended sentences of 3 to 5.5 years long. Only Aidar Gilyanov got an actual term of 3 years in a penal colony.[23] Some of the people responsible for the crimes avoided punishment.[24][25][26][27][28]

Defending Human Rights in Northern Caucasus

In 2009 in Chechnya human rights activists Natalia Estemirova, Zarema Sadulaeva and Alik Jabrailov were killed.[29][30] These killings provoked temporary suspension of activities of the NGO “Memorial” in Chechnya. Then Igor Kalyapin suggested to create a Joint Mobile Group in the region.[8][31] The work of the group is organized in shifts: a team of 3 people comes in few months from another regional department of the Committee. The first shift of the Group was assigned to Groznyi on 30th of November 2009. Mobile Groups achieved that fair investigations of incidents of abductions, torture and extra-judiciary executions were carried on. An example of this activity is the case of Islam Umaralashev, who was found and freed on 2nd of April 2010 from the Chechen OMON compound after he had been subjected to 3 months of torture.[32] The Group was criticised by the Chechen governmental officials, including the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. He had publicly condemned members of the Group on the basis that they “hate chechens” and “came here to earn some money” [33] The relationships between the Committee and the chechen authorities deteriorated after the 2014 Grozny clashes —a terror raid by “Caucasus Emirate” jihadist organization. According to the official reports 14 law enforcement, 11 terrorists and several civilians have died. The head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov has claimed that “the families of the attackers will be deported from Chechnya and their homes will be razed to the ground”.[34][35] Immediately arsons of the suspect’s homes have started. The Committee reacted by appealing to the Investigative Committee of Russia and the Office of General Attorney with demands to check if the words of Ramzan Kadyrov violate the Russian Constitution. Igor Kalyapin said that the relatives of the militants “can have penal responsibility and carry out a due sentence only if condemned by a court where the blame and the role in the criminal act were established”.[36] Then the head of the Chechen Republic responded with accusations towards the Committee of terrorism support and towards Kalyapin himself with accusations of links with the jihadist militants leadership. Nurdi Nuhadzhiev, presidential human rights ombudsman in Chechnya, took part in the ensuing intimidation campaign in TV and social media against the Committee.[35][37] On the 13th of December a mass meeting against terrorism with several thousands of people attending was held in Grozny.[38] After the meeting ended the members of the Joint Mobile Group were shadowed by armed people. The same day there was a fire in the office of the Committee.[39] On the 3rd of June 2015 the office was attacked again. A group of young men in surgical masks showed up at the meeting “NGOs and representatives of civil society” which was held nearby. They have entered into the offices and living quarters and vandalized them while the employees had to flee. The attackers severely damaged a car of the organisation. Following this events the office was moved to the neighboring Ingushetiya.

Prosecution

In January 2015, the Committee Against Torture was declared a "foreign agent" by Russia's Ministry of Justice.[40] The Ministry claimed that the Committee's actions aim to "influence the decision-making of the government bodies," and therefore, are political, which makes the organization eligible for the label. The Committee tried to appeal the decision in court. After its final appeal failed on 8 June 2015, the head of the organization said that it will start liquidation proceedings.[41] The Committee Against Torture was dissolved by a unanimous vote of its members on 1 August 2015.[42]

Igor Kalyapin announced the formation of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture. To avoid the "foreign agent" label, it will not receive funding from abroad and rely on donations from Russia. Previous work on medial help and legal support of torture victims will continue in several separate organizations without publicity, to prevent these activities from being treated as "political"[43][44]

Partners and Financing

At the onset of the Committee it was financed personally by Igor Kalyapin. Later the organisation enjoyed the support of European Humans Rights Committee and Soros foundation.[45] There used to be private donation and presidential grants (up to 2% of the budget).[46] In 2013 The Committee has received presidential grant for the first time.[47] In 2015 the Committee was included in the list of “Foreign agents” by the local department of the Ministry of Justice.[48] The Ministry of Justice (Russia) has claimed that as a foreign financing the following: most members of the Committee were receiving salary from a different NGO (the Bureau of Public Investigations) and paying the membership fee to the Committee. As of 2019, the Committee is deprived from foreign financing or any financing whatsoever since it is an unregistered NGO without a bank account.[49]

Awards and Recognition

The activity of Igor Kalyapin and of the Committee earned recognition from the international community. In 2011 the Human Rights Prize was awarded to the Committee by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. During the ceremony Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (the chairman of the PACE during the time) has underlined that this small NGO made a strong contribution in the human rights defence, especially in the Northern Caucuses due to the competence and bravery of its members.[50] Same year Igor Kalyapin and the project of “Joint Mobile Groups” by the Committee was awarded by Irish organisation Front Line Defenders. The same project received Martin Ennals Award.[51] In 2018 Igor Kalyapin received Egor Gaidar Award in category “For actions on formation of Civil Society”.[52] Olga Sadovskaya, the vice-president of the Committee, was nominated for a Nobel Piece Prize in 2018. In 2017 she and the journalist of Novaya Gazeta Elena Milashina were awarded Sakharov Prize by Norwegian Helsinki Committee.[53] Agency of Social Information distinguishes the Committee among organisations pursuing the justice while remarking that torture by the police remains a severe problem in Russia.[54] The director of the Europe and Central Asia programmes Tatiana Lokshina said: “Kalyapin and his group are practically the only ones who dare do human rights work in Chechnya despite vicious threats and brazen attacks”.[55]

See also

References
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  2. Общественное расследование 2015, p. 19.
  3. Общественное расследование 2015, p. 23.
  4. Общественное расследование 2015, p. 25.
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