Human rights activist Osman Boliev hospitalized in Dagestan after tortures

The appointed for today at the Khasavyurt City Court of Dagestan consideration of the criminal case of human rights activist Osman Boliev, accused of illegal purchase, storage and bearing of weapons, has not taken place because of the disease of the defendant, Boliev himself called up the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent from the therapeutic ward of the Khasavyurt City Hospital, where he was placed late last week with complaints on cardiac, head and backbone pains and general weakness.

The head of the local human rights organization "Romashka" relates his health problems to the tortures, to which he was exposed for three days in the Khasavyurt Interior Department (OVD) after detention on November 15 last year, and to the three-month stay at the Investigatory Isolation Facility. Until now, according to Boliev, haematomas may be seen on his legs - the traces from tortures.

Osman Boliev says that he feels bad and practically cannot walk. Now physicians are making his general examination. At arrival to hospital, a doctor told Osman that "the case was serious" and he needed delivery to the Republic's Hospital in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. "I feel bad. Strong dystrophy. My organism refuses to digest food," Boliev told to Anna Politkovskaya, observer of the "Novaya Gazeta", by phone on February 14, on the next day after he was released by the decision of Judge Yarali Ramazanov from custody under recognizance not to leave till the adjudgment of the court.

The new date of judicial session is not appointed yet. The Judge will make his decision after receiving an answer to his inquiry he has sent today to the Khasavyurt City Hospital. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt about it today from Ruslan, Osman's brother who took a certificate to the court today that his brother is at hospital.

We remind you that on Tuesday, February 13, Osman Boliev was released from custody under defence's petition till the court's verdict on his case. According to Sergey Brovchenko, defendant's advocate, who is defending Boliev with assistance of the Moscow Foundation "Public Verdict," the human rights activist was illegally kept behind the bars. "The detention protocol was not even signed by the person, who detained him and found ammunition in his pockets. The witnesses were in the next room and did not see the confiscation of the ammunition. I interrogated the witnesses, and they will testify in court in favour of the defendant. In the course of the investigation he practically gave no evidences. Only once, and in fact about nothing," the defender said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

We remind you that Osman Boliev was detained on November 15, 2005, by employees of the Motor Licensing and Inspection Service (GIBDD) under the pretext of verifying the information about his car, which looked like, according to the employees of the Road Inspection, the one registered as hijacked. However, on the way to the police station of Khasavyurt, Boliev's car was stopped by OMON (Special Militia) fighters. Thus GIBDD employees handed Boliev over to the OMON fighters and left. The OMON workers delivered Boliev to the Interior Department of Khasavyurt. There, the human rights activist was searched, and a disassembled grenade was found on him. At first, they also tried to accuse Boliev of participation in an illegal armed formation.

"Osman is armed with a pen only. This terrible weapon helped him to communicate with the European Court. I'm sure this is the reason of the criminal case against him," Sergey Brovchenko told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Right after detention on November 15 last year, he was severely beaten and tortured for four hours. He repeatedly lost consciousness. The militiamen who were beating him kept saying that he 'behaved incorrectly.' Then, in two pockets of his jacket they 'found' a fuse and a body of a grenade," the lawyer said.

Makhmut Magomadov and Selimat Kadyrova, advocates of Osman Boliev, have stated that they will file an application to the Prosecutor's Office of Khasavyurt on initiation of a criminal case against the employees of power agencies of Dagestan who tortured and beat their client, and on holding the procedure of physical examination on occasion of Boliev's beatings and tortures, the Chechen Committee for National Salvation reported.

In the opinion of the defenders, the materials of accusation contain a number of strange circumstances. "First of all, the search was made not at the Boliev's detention place, but only in the ROVD (District Interior Office) building. Following common logic, Boliev, when following the GIBDD car, could have easily got rid of the grenade parts, but he didn't do it," runs the statement of the Foundation "Public Verdict." "Secondly, the documents presented to the Prosecutor's Office lacked any description of the grenade. Thirdly, the documents presented to the Prosecutor's Office for initiation of a criminal case lacked interrogations of the witnesses who were present at the search (the interrogation protocols were presented only some days later). Fourthly, the documents presented to the Prosecutor's Office for initiation of the criminal case lacked materials on administrative detention."

In the opinion of a number of experts, the basic cause of Boliev's detention and accusation was his professional activities. The public organization "Romashka," headed by Boliev, was the initiator of a resonant court process on the case of kidnapping in Dagestan on October 19, 2004, by employees of the Khasavyurt ROVD of local resident Yaraly Israilov. Boliev, together with Karina Moskalenko, Commissioner of the International Commission of Lawyers and legal expert of the Centre for Promoting International Defence, filed and sent a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights. By the Court's Decision, the complaint was recognized eligible. Besides, Boliev made public the fact of murder of Summaya Abdurashitova, a 6-year old girl, by employees of law enforcement bodies of Dagestan during their special operation of detaining suspects of committing crimes. She was killed right in her bed on March 14, 2005, in Solnechnoye village of the Khasavyurt District by a splinter of a large-calibre shell. It was reported that a complaint on this case was also submitted to the European Court.