Residents of Karachay-Cherkessia complain about torture of their detained relative

Law enforcers from Karachay-Cherkessia forced Arthur Astezhev, a resident of Stavropol, to confess to an assault related to robbery on his own parents and to incriminate his brothers, relatives of the detainee complained. The father of Arthur Astezhev believes his son is not guilty.

On September 25, Arthur Astezhev was detained in Stavropol and taken to Cherkessk, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Viktoria Tsitaishvili, a detainee's wife. "They had been hiding him for two days, and relatives did not know anything. On September 27, at a trial, we saw signs of burns on his face, fingers, and ears."

A criminal case against Arthur Astezhev was instituted under Article "Robbery within a group of persons". "The victim is his father. In the summer of 2009, someone stole 70,000 roubles and a binocular worth 5000 roubles from the Arthur's father, while a silver chain was stolen from his wife. 11 years have passed, and his son is accused of the robbery," Viktoria Tsitaishvili said.

Arthur Astezhev was charged immediately after the torture, his wife adds. "Being tortured, he incriminated his brothers and another guy. The police let him understand that they did not need him, that he would get a suspended sentence, but he had to incriminate the brothers," Viktoria Tsitaishvili said. The woman also added that the brothers of Arthur Astezhev were taken into custody in another case.

At the trial, Shamil Astezhev declared his son was not guilty, Viktoria Tsitaishvili said.

Shamil Astezhev confirmed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he was sure his son was not guilty. "11 years have passed since the robbery. And suddenly they come to me and say that there are people who have confessed to the crime. And then I find out that my son confessed to the crime under torture. Of course, it is a shock for me. I appeal to all the authorities to stop this arbitrariness. They had been doing nothing for 11 years, but now they decide to accuse my son," Shamil Astezhev expressed his indignation.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 13, 2020 at 06:34 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.