Committee Against Torture (Russia)

Committee Against Torture
Комитет против пыток
Formation 2000
Dissolved 2015
Type Non-profit
NGO
Location
Fields Investigation of torture allegations, medical and legal support for torture victims, representation of victims in court
Key people
 Igor Kalyapin
Website pytkam.net

The Committee against Torture (INGO-CAT; Russian: Комите́т про́тив пы́ток) 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.

Activities

The Committee represents torture victims' interests in court and in investigative bodies, provides assistance in obtaining compensation, and provides medical rehabilitation. Lawyers of the Committee also conduct independent self-contained investigations, the results of which are used as evidence within official investigations and later in the courtroom. The Committee also represents Russian citizens at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Structure

The Committee has the official status of an interregional NGO. Its headquarters are located in Nizhny Novgorod with representations in Chechnya, Mariy El and Bashkiria. It also has a branch-office in Orenburg region.[1] It is a member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.[2]

History

The Committee was founded in 2000 in Nizhny Novgorod by a number of prominent Nizhny Novgorod human rights defenders, including the present NGO head Igor Kalyapin.

In 2006, the Committee presented its most wide-known case before the ECtHR, “Mikheyev vs. Russian Federation”. Mikheyev was falsely accused of murder and tortured in police custody in order to extract a confession to the alleged crime. The Court adjudicated in favor of the applicant, found Russia in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and obliged the state to pay Mikheyev 250,000 EUR as compensation.

In 2011, the Committee was awarded the Human Rights Prize of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.[3]

In 2011, the Committee initiated the Joint Mobile Group, a collective of legal and communications experts from different parts of the Russian Federation investigating human rights violations, including torture and enforced disappearances through missions in Chechnya.[4] The Group was awarded the 2011 Front Line Defenders Award[5] and the 2013 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.[6]

According to Kommersant, over 15 years the Committee has initiated the prosecution of 109 law enforcement officers convicted of torture and has helped reverse decisions to drop torture-related charges against more than 600 people.[7] The Committee also has prepared and filed 75 applications to the ECtHR.[1]

Attacks

In December 2014, the Committee's Chechen office was set on fire by unknown armed people.[8] The burning came shortly after the Committee's head Igor Kalyapin asked the Prosecutor's General office and the Investigative Committee to examine statements made by Chechnya's governor Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov had said that the Chechen government would persecute the relatives of known terrorists, which resulted in multiple house burnings across the republic.[9][10]

In June 2015, unknown people broke into the Committee's Chechen office, broke open the door with sledgehammers and destroyed documents and equipment. Following the attack, Ramzan Kadyrov accused the Committee of "instigating civil unrest".[9] Responding to the events, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders called on the Russian authorities to take urgent steps to protect human rights defenders working in Chechnya from attacks and harassment.[11] The Committee filed charges against the police for inaction during the attack.[12] The Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs found no violations in the behavior of the police.[13]

Prosecution

In January 2015, the Committee Against Torture was declared a "foreign agent" by Russia's Ministry of Justice.[7] 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 he 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.[14] The Committee Against Torture was dissolved by a unanimous vote of its members on 1 August 2015.[15]

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"[16][17]

See also

External links

References

  1. 1 2 "No torture — Common information". pytkam.net. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  2. ↑ "About us - The members". www.irct.org. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  3. ↑ "PACE’s 2011 Human Rights Prize awarded to the Russian NGO 'Committee against Torture'". www.assembly.coe.int. 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  4. ↑ "From our members: When human rights defenders continue the fight". World Without Torture. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  5. ↑ "2011 Joint Mobile Group winner of the Seventh Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk". www.frontlinedefenders.org. Front Line Defenders. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  6. ↑ "Joint Mobile Group awarded the Martin Ennals Award". Civil Rights Defenders. 2013-10-08.
  7. 1 2 "Russia's Committee Against Torture To Fight 'Foreign Agent' Label". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. January 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  8. ↑ "В Грозном подожгли офис правозащитников из "Комитета против пыток"". zona.media. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  9. 1 2 "http://www.newsweek.com/chechen-human-rights-groups-office-ransacked-protesters-339048". www.newsweek.com. Retrieved 2015-07-12. External link in |title= (help)
  10. ↑ Kramer, Andrew E. (2014-12-14). "Human Rights Group’s Office Destroyed in Arson Attack". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  11. ↑ "Joint Statement by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  12. ↑ "https://meduza.io/en/news/2015/06/04/complaints-filed-against-chechen-police-for-inaction-during-ngo-attack". meduza.io. Retrieved 2015-07-12. External link in |title= (help)
  13. ↑ Жалобу правозащитников на полицию в Чечне не подтвердили. Радио Свобода (in Russian). 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  14. ↑ "http://www.newsweek.com/russian-parliament-creates-patriotic-stop-list-351562". www.newsweek.com. Retrieved 2015-07-12. External link in |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "Members of INGO "The Committee Against Torture" conference made a decision to dissolve the organization". www.pytkam.net. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  16. ↑ "Правозащитники Комитета против пыток продолжат работу в новой организации". Retrieved 2015-08-07.
  17. ↑ "Russian prosecutors move to outlaw US foundation, embattled Russian rights group halts work". Retrieved 2015-08-07.
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