Russian law enforcement officials have used ill-treatment to coerce confessions from suspects in the October 13 armed attacks in the Northern Caucasus city of Nalchik, Human Rights Watch said today.
During a fact-finding trip to the region, Human Rights Watch researchers collected convincing evidence that at least eight persons who were detained on suspicion of participation in the attacks were subjected to ill-treatment that in some cases may amount to torture.
“Russian law enforcement routinely uses torture in its counterterrorism operations,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch. “The illegal practice of fighting one human rights abuse with another must be stopped immediately.”
On October 13, skirmishes broke out between a group of armed men and police and security forces in Nalchik, the capital of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria. The ...