![]() On 28 November, as Tom Balmforth writing on RFE/RL reported, a press conference was held at the Sakharov Centre, organized by Lev Ponomarev, director of the For Human Rights movement, at which former inmates and convicts' relatives alleged abuse by staff at the same prison colony (No. 7 in Segezha, Karelia) where Ildar Dadin is held. Opening the press conference, Lev Ponomarev said: ‘Today we will rebut the words of the deputy director of the FSIN.’ Tom Balmforth quotes Zhanata Gabzayeva, the mother of a 25-year-old Chechen serving time at the prison colony, as saying her son, Khasbulat, had been sent to the punishment cell for no reason and beaten until he lost consciousness, and had been targeted with other abuse: ‘They hang him by his legs, they beat his feet, dunk him in the toilet, pour cold water on him. Help, please. You cannot treat people like this just because they are behind bars. There are no laws there.’ Lev Ponomarev also read out the testimony of a former inmate at the prison who ‘was unwilling to attend the press conference out of fear of retribution’ who described the torture to which he had been subjected at the prison colony. Balmforth also reported that other relatives and four former inmates made similar allegations via Skype. Caucasian Knot reported that at the same press conference Kameta Saidullaeva said her husband, Anzor Mamaev who is from Chechnya, was beaten at the prison colony after his meeting with Ombudsperson Tatiana Moskalkova. Sources: ‘Jailed opposition activist Dadin to spend 6 months in solitary confinement,’ RAPSI, 1 December 2016 Halya Coynash, '6 Months Solitary Confinement & new charges for reporting torture in Russian prison,' Human Rights in Ukraine, 5 December 2016 ‘Russian Prison Officials Reject Dadin's Abuse Claims,’ RFE/RL, 28 November 2016 Tom Balmforth, Ex-Inmates, Relatives Echo Russian Prison Torture Allegations Of Jailed Protester Dadin, RFE/RL, 28 November 2016 ‘Wife of Chechen native confirms Dadin’s story about torture in IK-7,’ Caucasian Knot, 29 November 2016 |
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