Journalist Alexander Batmanov states cruel treatment at SIZO

Alexander Batmanov, a Volgograd journalist, who was placed into SIZO (pre-trial prison) with his broken legs, has complained about his health deterioration. They removed the plaster cast from one of his legs before time, just to force him to walk on crutches, he said.

On June 24, Batmanov, detained for an alleged attempt to steal some foodstuffs from a store, jumped out of the window of a police station and broke his legs, said Temur Kobaliya, the head of the Volgograd Human Rights Council and the non-profit organization (NPO) NKO-TV. The regional Chief Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) asserts that Batmanov ha been detained with traumas received under unknown circumstances.

He has complained about severe pains in his leg, from which they removed the plaster cast.

Alexander also claims that at night on June 24 he jumped out of a third-level window of the police station because of fear.

During his two trips from the SIZO to the court, he was brutally treated, Mr Batmanov claims. He associates his prosecution with his work for the NKO-TV, where he covered NPOs' human rights activities.

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