Human rights defenders believe Gisaev’s story of torture

The story of Adam Gisaev, a native of Chechnya, who claimed torture in a SIZO (pre-trial prison) in Irkutsk, which provoked a complaint by the “Roskomnadzor” (the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media), is true, and such reports have been received from other convicts from prisons in the Irkutsk Region, human rights defenders note.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on October 27, the “Roskomnadzor” demanded from YouTube to block a video of former prisoner Adam Gisaev with a story about torture at the SIZO. Adam Gisaev said that he was kept in a punishment cell for about a year and was deprived of food to death because he spoke out against the torture of other prisoners. He also talked about an attempt to stage his suicide.

Adam Gisaev’s story does not differ from the claims of many other prisoners, says Vladimir Osechkin, the head of the Gulagu.net project.

Perhaps the demand for blocking is connected with the fear of the authorities that “Chechen natives will rise up against torture,” Vladimir Osechkin suggests. “After all, we also have much more terrible videos, including those where Chechen natives are raped in a Saratov prison hospital. So, unrest may begin in the Caucasus,” he said.

Vladimir Osechkin mentioned the testing by the authorities of blocking technologies as another possible reason.

According to human rights defender Oyub Titiev, similar torture occurs “all the time” in the SIZO of Irkutsk and in the Irkutsk Region. “The Irkutsk Region is the most repressive region in relation to detainees and prisoners,” the human right defender explained.

Adam Gisaev added that he had repeatedly, but to no avail, filed complaints of torture in the SIZO.