11:57, 11 March 2021

Rights defenders lodge complaint to ECtHR on KBR businessman Kasheshov's case

The European Court of Human Rights. Photo: REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

Ruslan Kasheshov, a businessman from Nalchik, was sentenced to 11 years on the basis of confessions made under torture; but the torture case was never investigated. The lawyers from the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" have stated this in a complaint sent to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 30, 2019, the Southern District Military Court sentenced Ruslan Kasheshov, a co-owner of sushi bars in Nalchik, to 11 years in a high-security colony on charges of possessing a grenade, drugs and aiding the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization, banned in Russia by the court.

Kasheshov was detained in Nalchik in June 2018. According to his version, they planted a grenade and a bag with drugs into his car, and he had pled guilty under torture. A witness said in court that during the detention, blood was flowing down Kasheshov's face. The man was forced to confess to receiving the weapons and drugs from the militant Yuri Bitsuev, whom he also helped with money, according to the HRC "Memorial".

The complaint states that after the detention, Kasheshov was beaten up, tortured with electric current, and threatened with rape. In their turn, law enforcers explained the injuries received by Kasheshov by his attempt to escape.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 10, 2021 at 03:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.