Rights defenders concerned over complaint about torture of a Chechen resident

Bekkhan Zubairaev, who was deported from Austria to Russia and accused in homeland of organizing a terror act, was tortured in Grozny, his sister claims. The Committee against Torture decided to provide an advocate for Bekkhan Zubairaev.

Zarema Zubairaeva, a resident of Grozny, claims that Bekkhan Zubairaev, her 31-year-old brother, was tortured for two days in Grozny after the detention on false evidence.

"For 16 years, my brother lived in Austria with my sister. In January 2018, he was deported from Austria, and he came to Russia. On March 20, law enforcers from Chechnya detained my brother in Mineralnye Vody. They brought him to Grozny and tortured him during two days. They wanted him to confess to his involvement in raising money intended to send Russian citizens to fight in Syria. A prisoner from Chechnya testified against him," Zarema Zubairaeva informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The brother pleads not guilty, and he has asked his sister to seek help from rights defenders, Zarema Zubairaeva said.

Zarema Zubairaeva appealed to the Committee Against Torture. According to the human rights organization, on August 2, they got a letter from the woman with a request to help her brother Bekkhan Zubairaev.

"We got a letter from her. We considered it and decided to provide Bekkhan Zubairaev with our advocate. Alexander Karavaev will defend the man in the case," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Albert Kuznetsov, a member of the human rights organization.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 3, 2018 at 03:20 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.