A/HRC/13/42*
page 185
Date of release
March 2004. As a result of his false confession, he faced charges in relation to manslaughter.
He was released after a court hearing. No apology or compensation. To date, he has not filed a
complaint.
* Information contained is from an interview with the interviewee and other credible
sources.
** Initials used at the request of the alleged detainee.
Case 23 - Biographic details
Name of interviewee
Mr. X.Y.* **
Nationality/country of origin
Russian Federation
Gender
Male
Detention
Date of initial detention
Late 2007
Location of initial detention
Dagestan, Chechnya, Russian Federation.
Grounds of initial detention
Grounds of arrest unknown, but he appears to have been arrested on suspicion of involvement
in the killing of members of the armed forces.
The authority(ies) involved in the detention
Around 10 persons - some dressed in black uniforms, some dressed in civilian clothes. Some
were identified as ethnic Russians, and others as members of the GRU (“Glavnoye
Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye” - “Главное Разведывательное Управление”), the foreign
military intelligence service of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.
Total period of detention
Approximately 10 days.
Duration of secret detention
Entire duration of detention - approximately 10 days.
Site(s) of detention, including sites of possible transit
Detained at a secret facility in Gudermes district, Chechnya, Russian Federation, which is
jointly run by the FSB (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation - “Federal'naya
sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii” - “Федеральная служба безопасности
Российской Федерации”), the GRU, and the ATC (Anti-Terrorist Centre, Russian
Federation).
Conditions and treatment
He was interrogated by a group for about 10 days, accused of being a fighter and co-erced in
order to obtain a confession to the killing of members of the armed forces. He received
numerous electric shocks through a wire that was wrapped around his fingers, legs and feet
while his hands were tied around his back. He was beaten with iron bars, and on one occasion,
his captors tried to burn him with a blowtorch, but when they could not ignite it, burned him
with a lighter. He was left without shoes, and made to sleep on the concrete floor in extremely
cold temperatures. He was never given food and received only one glass of water per day.
Finally, he was brought in a military pick-up truck into a forest in order to be executed if he
did not confess. He managed to escape in the forest.
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