In Ingushetia the officers of law enforcement authorities get the confessions using tortures

On July 2, 2009 around 7 a.m. at the village of Kantyshevo (Ingushetia) the officers of Federal Security Service jointly with the officers of Temporary Task Force of Ministry of Home Affairs (TTF) organized a special operation on the First Shkolnyi Street. During the operation the man suspected of taking part in illegal armed union was killed. The personality of the criminal wasn't identified. One officer of TTF was killed, another injured.

It is reported officially that at 7.15 am while the investigation and search operations in the village of Kantyshevo was being held, an unidentified man hiding in an inhabited van fired at the officers of the law enforcement authorities. The criminal was shot.  

There are no witnesses of the operation. The operation area was blocked for several hours.

On the same day, the officers of law enforcement authorities detained Magomed Archakov, 1973. He is a local resident, the owner of the land where the above mentioned van is situated. His brothers – Ahmat, 1973, and Musa, 1977, - were also arrested.   

On July 6 Archakov's mother, Petimat, applied to HRC Memorial. In her written application it is stated that on July 2 around 7 am a neighbor called Magomed on the phone. She said that there was a fight on Magomed's land (he didn't live there but used it for farming). Magomed and his brother Musa came to his land lot. They were not allowed to approach because all roads were blocked even after Magomed told that he was the owner. Magomed and Musa came back home.

Some time passing district police officer came to Archakov's house and took Magomed with him. Around 9 am he was brought back. He was accompanied by many officers of law enforcement authorities. They came in several vehicles, most of them wore masks. "Siloviks" burst into the house. Without introducing themselves and showing no documents they searched the house. They didn't find anything illegal, took photos of all people in the house and their documents. Then they took three brothers and went in unidentified direction. They provided no information about where the brothers were taken. During the detention the cell phones were not taken from Archakov brothers so they managed to call their relatives and tell that they were being taken to the office of Nazran ROVD (District police department). After that the connection was broken.    

It was reported later that Magomed was taken somewhere separately from his brothers. Ahmat and Musa were detained in the ROVD. For two days the relatives didn't know anything about brothers. They applied to the republic Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and public prosecutor's office but without any result. Through acquaintances the relatives learned where Ahmed and Musa were. They hired advocate V. Kostoyev to defend their rights. He achieved release of Musa and Ahmat on the third day of their detention.

On July 4 Magomed Archakov was taken to the detention center of MHA of Ingushetia. He wasn't released because he was suspected of harbouring an armed rebel, boevik. Magomed was severely tortured. The officers wanted him to confess of the crime. Where he was held and who interrogated him Magomed doesn't know. Magomed didn't settle anyone on his land and so he states that he didn't commit any crime to confess of. He also doesn't know anything about the man who was hiding in the van.  

Magomed Archakov is in grave physical condition. Only after the interference of the advocate doctor was allowed to examine Magomed and to give him an anesthetic injection. Magomed's kidney is beaten, ribs broken, ears and fingers stabbed by needles. He needs immediate hospitalization.  

In the application Petimat Archakova asks to defend her son's rights.

For more information and for the full text of the application (in Russian) visit Memorial site: http://www.memo.ru/hr/hotpoints/caucas1/msg/2009/07/m166313.htm

July 7, 2009