Human rights defenders encouraged by decision of Chechen SC on actor Debishev’s complaint

The Supreme Court of Chechnya has cancelled the decision of the court, which for the 13th time recognized as lawful the refusal to institute a criminal case on the torture of Timur Debishev, an actor from Chechnya. Human rights defenders called the above court’s decision rare for Chechnya and encouraging for them.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in 2018, actor Timur Debishev complained that he had been tortured by the police. According to him, law enforcers found his mobile phone number among the contacts of a person suspected of drug trafficking, tortured him with electric current, and beat him, demanding to give up drug addicts he knew. When studying Timur Debishev’s contacts, the police became interested in his acquaintances from the “Nokhcho” folklore ensemble. At least one of them, Tamerlan Amaev, was beaten up by law enforcers in front of Timur Debishev. Later, Tamerlan Amaev and two of his colleagues from the “Nokhcho” folklore ensemble testified, confirming the version of the police. Investigators repeatedly refused to institute a criminal case on torture.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya has decided to send Timur Debishev’s case for a new consideration because of a violation in the decision of the first instance court, reports Roman Veretennikov, a lawyer for the North-Caucasian branch of the “Team Against Torture”*.

Ekaterina Vanslova, the head of the North-Caucasian branch of the “Team Against Torture”*, called the return of the case to the first instance court a success.

Svetlana Gannushkina**, the chair of the “Civic Assistance Committee”**, who considered Timur Debishev’s case unpromising, was “pleasantly surprised” by the trial. According to the human rights defender, such a change in developments happens “quite rarely” in Chechnya.

*The “Committee Against Torture” (CaT) was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NCOs, performing the functions of a foreign agent. The lawyers who previously worked for the “Committee Against Torture” created the “Team Against Torture”.

**Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.