Nukhanov complains to ECtHR about torture for video about houses of Kadyrov’s associates

In a complaint filed to the European Court of Human Rights, human rights defenders pointed out that Islam Nukhanov, an author of the video about the wealth of the persons from among the associates of the leader of Chechnya, was sentenced based on confessions knocked out under torture.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Islam Nukhanov was detained after trying to make public a video about the luxurious living conditions of Chechen officials. At the same time, the man was accused of storing firearm cartridges.

On June 9, Marina Agaltsova and Natalia Sekretaryova, lawyers from the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*, filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against the verdict pronounced against Islam Nukhanov on October 2, 2020. The defendant was sentenced to four years of imprisonment in a penal settlement-colony. The Zavodskoi District Court of Grozny found Islam Nukhanov guilty not only of storing firearm cartridges, but also of using violence against a public officer.

In the complaint filed to the Strasbourg Court, the human rights defenders claim the violation of Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) and Article 5 (right to liberty and security of person) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In Chechnya, the courts ignored the Islam Nukhanov’s complaints about torture, the lawyers said. Meanwhile, the courts based the verdict against Islam Nukhanov on the confessions, which he retracted. “Kidnappings and torture, especially torture with electric current using old telephone sets, are a widespread practice in the work of the chief of the <law enforcement body in Grozny>,” the complaint states. According to the human rights defenders, law enforcers tortured Islam Nukhanov for more than three weeks, using electric current and a metal-plastic pipe.

* The organization is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the “Register of non-profit organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent”.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 10, 2021 at 03:06 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.