Rights defenders claim torture of Ibragim Gadjiev

The ambulance doctors who came to Ibragim Gadjiev, a detained witness in the case against policemen Raip and Ziyavudin Ashikov, fixed traces of beatings and use of electric current on his body, said Uma Askerkhanova, a member of the Public Oversight Commission (POC) of Dagestan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 31, armed men took Ibragim Gadjiev away from his home in Makhachkala as a witness in the case initiated against policemen, Raip and Ziyavudin Ashikov. Sapiyat Magomedova, Ibragim's advocate, has suggested that the policemen had been sent from some other region.

Ibragim Gadjiev is kept at one of the divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in Makhachkala, but advocates are not allowed to visit him, Ms Magomedova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent in the evening on March 31.

According to her story, the defence has applied to the Dagestani POC asking "to check if he (Gadjiev) was in normal condition."

Ibragim Gadjiev was beaten up and tortured with electric current, the advocate Magomedova said, referring to members of the Dagestani POC. "All this was fixed by ambulance doctors and photos," Sapiyat Magomedova has explained.

Uma Askerkhanova, a POC member, has confirmed that the doctors had fixed the fact of beatings, adding that Gadjiev is preparing an application about torture to be sent to the POC.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 1, 2021 at 00:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.