21.07.2006 Tortures in Karelian prisons!

Karelian department of the “Youth Human Rights Group” sharply condemns putting Karelian prisons’ convicts to tortures. Soviet’s punitive practice of maximum punishment for prisoner instead of his correction must be eliminated. Tripped up person who is kept in inhuman conditions turns into a beast. It is a result of awful conditions of his long-term imprisonment, absolute absence, lack of communication with the outward world, tortures and overcrowded cells. Unfortunately the Office of Public Prosecutor conceals the fact of putting prisoners to tortures instead of promoting protection of theirs rights. Even a dangerous predator does not suffer like Karelian convicts. We demand from the Office of Public Prosecutor partial investigation cases of colony chiefs’ illegal actions. Moreover we insist on immediate change of the regular service personnel of the colony in Nadvoick that is suspected in participation in a crime.
Nadezhda Lyapina reads one of the complaints send to the Office of Public Prosecutor: “Everyday in the morning and in the evening during the cells’ rounds the colony personal by order of colonel Tereha under the leadership of the chief of the safety Kalinin with the participation of substitute of the chief of the safety and the operational work Gavrilenko prisoners were taken out of their cells, were force to take off their clothes and under the hunting of the prison’s dogs two on-duty squads (about 10-15 people) began to torture the prisoners. Jailers stood naked prisoners to a wall, stretched them, rent leg muscles, unscrewed hands, squeezed throat, stroke them painful blows in different parts of body and important organs. Thus jailers caused the mutilations to prisoners. In the first months were tortured the following convicts: Voronin, Ivanov, Isakov, Andersen, Bylgakov, Orlov, Kuznecov, Ogolihin, Karimov, Gladkii, Bogdanov, Alaev, Glyhov, Martishkov, Sidorov, Svargal’. Tropnikov, Myhameddeev, Ramazanov, Saphronov and others. Substitude of the chief of the operational work Babii openly spoke against it but soon after that he had been pensioned off.
The press service of Karelian department of the “Youth Human Rights Group”.