Also send copies to:
Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak, Embassy of the Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington DC 20007
Phone: 1 202 298 5700 I Fax: 1 202 298 5735 I Email: embassy@russianembassy.org
Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact! EITHER send a short email to uan@aiusa.org with “UA 206/15” in the subject line, and include in the body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent, OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action. Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if taking action after the appeals date.
URGENT ACTION
prisoner requires urgent medical treatment
On 23 December 2014, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria delivered the verdict in the trial of 57 men accused of participating in the armed attack on Nalchik in October 2005. By that time most of the defendants had spent over nine years in detention. The trial started in April 2008 and lasted for over six years, and was riddled with numerous violations of fair trial principles, including consistent failure to address credible allegations of torture made by several defendants. The court found all 57 defendants guilty giving life sentence to five defendants, releasing three defendants as they had already served their sentences and giving the rest various terms of imprisonment - from 10 to 23 years - in high security penal colonies. Most of the defendants insist that they were not guilty and are appealing their sentences. Amnesty International has repeatedly raised concerns in connection with serious human rights violations in this case, including the use of torture and other ill-treatment and denial of necessary and urgent medical treatment to several co-defendants.
Initially, 59 men were standing trial but two of them died while the trial was ongoing.
Another defendant, Sergei Kaziev, died on 21 August after almost three months on hunger strike in protest against his sentence and his detention conditions. Similarly to many of his co-defendants, Sergei Kaziev complained of torture and other ill-treatment during the investigation intended to extract “confessions”. While in detention he developed cirrhosis and diabetes and in 2011, after repeated requests from his lawyers and following other detainees going on hunger strike in support, he was put under house arrest. Despite Sergei Kaziev’s health being very poor, when he was finally sentenced to 14.5 years in prison he was immediately taken into custody. Sergei Kaziev’s hunger strike was in demand for transfer to a penal colony where conditions would be less harsh than in SIZO-1.
Standards for the provision of medical care are set out in a number of international documents. In particular, Rule 22(2) of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners provides for the transfer of sick prisoners who require specialist treatment to specialized institutions or civilian hospitals.
The importance of provision of medical care in places of detention is further reiterated in the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. Principle 24 states that medical care and treatment shall be provided whenever necessary [to a detained or imprisoned person] free of charge. More detailed criteria were developed by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in its 3
rd General report. In particular, paragraph 38 states that “a prison health care service should be able to provide medical treatment and nursing care … in conditions comparable to those enjoyed by patients in the outside community.”
The European Prison Rules of the Council of Europe states in paragraph 40.5 that "All
necessary medical, surgical and psychiatric services including those available in the community shall be provided to the prisoner for that purpose". Moreover, paragraph 46.1 states that "Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals, when such treatment is not available in prison." Russian legislation contains a number of regulations describing standards of medical healthcare for prisoners and cases when prison sentences could be exchanged for other measure of restraint due to a prisoner’s poor health.
The denial of medical care could be considered to be torture or other ill-treatment.
Name: Amur Abubovich Khakulov (m)
Issues: Health concern, Unfair trial, Harsh prison conditions
UA: 206/15
Issue Date: 24 September 2015
Country: Russian Federation