Court in Grozny obliges MIA to clarify claims to Murad Amriev and rights defenders

The court in Grozny, which is considering the lawsuit lodged by the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) against the Committee against Torture (CaT) and an athlete Murad Amriev, has obliged the MIA to clarify the claims; and the court also requested materials of the check of the complaint about torturing the athlete, said Galina Arapova, the head of the Centre for Defence of Media Rights.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in September 2013 Murad Amriev addressed for help to the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) of rights defenders, which includes members of the CaT, stating that on August 25, 2013, he was kidnapped and tortured for two days in the building of the MIA Department in Grozny.

The first session on the merits of the lawsuit of the Chechen MIA against the Inter-Regional Public Organization (IRPO) "Committee against Torture" and Murad Amriev was held at the Leninsky District Court of Grozny.

The next session on the lawsuit of the MIA against Amriev and rights defenders is scheduled for February 27.

Representatives of the respondent have pointed to serious procedural errors in the lawsuit, said Galina Arapova. She hopes that the next session will announce the materials of the check of Amriev's complaint about torture.

On December 13, 2014, it became known about a fire in the Grozny office of the JMG, which includes rights defenders of the CaT. The office with the documentation burnt out completely.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.