Dagestan: law enforcers accused of violence left under house arrest

The Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan has upheld the decision of the first-instance court, which sent the two law enforcers detained for extorting and forcing Yulduz Kurashova, a local resident, to self-incriminate, under house arrest. After the decision of the first-instance about the house arrest of the law enforcers, the woman had to move to another residence, her advocate has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the above law enforcers were suspected of abuse of powers after Yulduz Kurashova had complained about coercion to self-incrimination and extortion. The victim stated that after the initiation of the case against law enforcers, she began receiving threats. On June 12, the court sent both operative agents under house arrest.

Abubakar Yangulbaev, a lawyer of the Committee against Torture (CaT), has noted that this is the second such decision of the Dagestani SC. In May, it rejected the appeal of human rights defenders, who insisted on placing the two policemen from the Khasavyurt District, accused of torturing Musa Aliev, a resident of Mutsalaul, into SIZO (pre-trial prison). Moreover, earlier, the Dagestani SC had sided with the victims and overturned decisions on house arrest for law enforcers accused of torture.

Yangulbaev also said that in the near future rights defenders will install video surveillance cameras at Kurashova's residence. "She complains that strangers come to her at night. She is very scared," he said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 1, 2020 at 02:05 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.