Russian activist: Torture won't stop until torturers are punished
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 6 March 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian activist: Torture won't stop until torturers are punished, 6 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a5f218.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
March 06, 2017
Russian human rights activist Igor Kalyapin (file photo)
PRAGUE – The chief of a prominent Russian human rights group says that torture in Russian penitentiaries and police stations can only be stopped if police officers and prison guards who practice it are brought to trial and convicted.
Igor Kalyapin, head of the NGO Committee Against Torture, spoke to Current Time TV in Prague on March 6.
He said there is a widespread belief in Russia that the February 26 release of Ildar Dadin, a political activist whose allegations of torture in prison caused an outcry, was the result of Dadin's persistence rather than a sign of a change in official policy or practices.
"Many believe that Dadin turned out to be impossible for the system to chew up, and the system had to spit him out," Kalyapin told Current TIme TV, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. "While in custody, Dadin . . . inflicted more damage to the system than he inflicted as a free man."
Dadin, 34, is the only person to have been convicted under a 2014 law that criminalizes participation in more than one unsanctioned protest during a 180-day period.
He was serving a 2 1/2-year sentence when the Supreme Court overturned his conviction last month, leading to his release.
Based on reporting by Current Time TV
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
