Details of Muslims' torture in Kalmyk colony give rise to appeal to Kadyrov

Natives of Dagestan told advocates new details of torture in the Kalmyk colony and stated that they and other Muslims were not allowed to pray and read the Koran. Vladimir Osechkin, the head of the "Gulagu.net" project, has called on Ramzan Kadyrov, who positions himself as a defender of Muslims, to intervene in the situation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 8, the "Gulagu.net" reported about the beating of more than a hundred prisoners of the colony in Kalmykia after a colony warden was murdered. Vladimir Osechkin has stated that the convicts, who are accused of attacking the colony staff, had previously been tortured. Aza Alieva, one of the advocates, reported that her client, Magomed Atimagomedov, was tortured, severely beaten up and poured with boiling water, forcing him to sign the necessary testimonies. The second suspect, Daud Kuramagomedov, was also subjected to torture and violence, his advocate, Snezhana Muntyan said.

On August 17, the advocates, Muntyan and Alieva, told that when they walked with their clients and the investigator from the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) in the colony, they "saw Muslims' prayer rugs and the Koran owned by Magomed Atimagomedov in a pile of garbage, the "Gulagu.net" reported late on August 17.

The video lasting more than 83 minutes includes a record of Vladimir Osechkin's dialogue via video link with Snezhana Muntyan and Aza Alieva. The former said, in particular, that, according to Daud Kuramagomedov, salt was poured on his burns and cuts. "First, wardens poured [hot] water on them, then salt was sprinkled just on the places where they had burns ... Besides, Daud told that pepper gas was sprayed into his eyes, face and armpits," Snezhana Muntyan has told.

Aza Alieva reported that on August 16, the advocates received a resolution on recognizing Atimagomedov and Kuramagomedov as victims. Apart from them, eight other prisoners were named as victims.

The convicted Muslims were not allowed to perform namaz and pray, Aza Alieva has added. According to her story, Atimagomedov told her that "it all started with us praying." "When I was reading the Koran, a warden came up to me and said: this is extremist literature, you should not read it, take it away, otherwise you will be accused under Article 205 [of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, dealing with terrorism]. Then other employees came, took away [prayer] rugs and this literature," the advocate retold the story of her client.

At the end of the video, Vladimir Osechkin appealed to all the Muslims who watched his stream live or recorded. "Please send a link to this stream to Ramzan Kadyrov, Adam Delimkhanov, [an adviser to the head of Chechnya and a State Duma MP], those strong and powerful men in Russia, who position themselves as defenders of the interests of the Caucasus, Chechnya, Muslims and faith," he has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 18, 2022 at 08:44 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.