11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Reports of occasional violations of 48 hour time limit following arrest and reports that police obtained defence counsels friendly to prosecution ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 19298]

"The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, in practice they remained problems. (...)

By law, an individual may be taken into custody for 48 hours without court approval if arrested at the scene of a crime, provided there is evidence of the crime committed or a witness. Otherwise a court approved arrest warrant is required. After arrest, detainees are typically taken to the nearest police station where they are informed of their rights. The police are obliged to write an official protocol, signed by the detainee and the police officer within three hours of detention, which states the grounds for the detention. Police must interrogate the detainee within the first 24 hours. Prior to the interrogation, the detainee has the right to meet with an attorney for two hours. No later than 12 hours after detention, police must notify the prosecutor and the detainee's relatives about the detention unless a prosecutor issues a warrant to keep the detention secret. Police must release the detainee after 48 hours, subject to bail conditions, unless a court decides to keep the person in custody in response to a motion filed by police no later than eight hours before the expiration of the 48-hour detention period. The defendant and his or her attorney must be present at the court hearing. By law, within two months of a suspect's arrest, police must complete their investigation and transfer the file to the prosecutor for arraignment, although a court may extend the criminal investigation for up to six months in cases classified as complex. With the personal approval of the prosecutor general, a judge may extend that period up to 18 months.

Legal limitations on detention were generally respected; however, there were reports of occasional violations of the 48 hour time limit following an arrest. Frequently, authorities failed to write the official protocol of detention within three hours after the actual detention and held suspects in excess of detention limits. In addition there were reports that police obtained defense counsels friendly to the prosecution. These "pocket" defense counsels allowed interrogation of their clients. The general ignorance of legal rights by both defendants and their defense counsels contributed to the persistence of these violations.

Judges occasionally suppressed confessions of suspects whose confessions were taken without a lawyer present. They also freed suspects who were held in excess of detention limits, although they usually granted prosecutors' motions to extend the detention period for good cause. The Supreme Court overturned a number of cases in which lower court judges granted permission to detain individuals on what the Supreme Court deemed inadequate grounds."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Authorities selectively detained and prosecuted members of political opposition ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22592]

"Authorities selectively detained and prosecuted members of the political opposition. Some observers considered the 2003 arrest on fraud charges, and additional charges of money laundering during the year, of prominent and politically active businessman Mikhail Khodorkovskiy and the 2004 arrest on fraud charges of Yukos Oil Company lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina to constitute possible cases of selective arrest and prosecution with political motives, regardless of their guilt or innocence on the specific charges against them (see sections 1.e. and 2.b.)."

Document(s): Open document

19.09.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

According to reports, around 16 young men have gone missing in Dagestan in 2007 so far; families fear that they have been arbitrarily detained by police ("Human rights concerns [EUR 46/040/2007]") [ID 21385]

"There continue to be reports about serious human rights violations committed in Chechnya and other regions of the North Caucasus. According to reports, around 16 young men, between 20 and 31 years old, have gone missing in Dagestan in 2007 so far. Their families fear that they have been arbitrarily detained by police officers and are being held in incommunicado detention in Dagestan or in Chechnya, where they are at a high risk of torture or extra-judicial execution. The prosecutor of Dagestan has reportedly stated that law enforcement officials were involved in some of the cases. A demonstration by a group of relatives of the disappeared who protested against the disappearances in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, was violently dispersed on 10 August 2007. Several participants were charged with violations of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. A court in Makhachkala later found that the demonstrators had acted in line with the law and critizised the police action. Amnesty International is not aware of further actions against the policemen involved in this incident."

Document(s): Open document

19.09.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

Law enforcement officials reportedly are responsible for arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial executions of ethnic Ingush men; in some cases relatives have discovered that arbitrarily detained men have been transferred to Vladikavkaz ("Human rights concerns [EUR 46/040/2007]") [ID 21387]

"Law enforcement officials including troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and members of the Federal Security Service reportedly are responsible for arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial executions of ethnic Ingush men. In some cases where men have been arbitrarily detained, their relatives have discovered that they have been transferred to Vladikavkaz under investigation by the investigative group of the department of the Prosecutor General for the Southern Federal Region. They are held without contact with their family and a lawyer of their choice. Amnesty International considers that these individuals are at high risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Others, such as Ibragim Gazdiev, have gone missing without a trace (see below)."

Document(s): Open document

11.08.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Ingushetia: All 36 Chechen men detained in Altievo, Ingushetia, during a police and army raid, reportedly released ("Russian Federation - Further Information on UA 210/04") [#24620], [ID 11210]

Document(s): Open document

04.08.2004 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Ingushetia - cases of disapepearances, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and unlawful detentions, documented ("Ingushetia: Enforced “Disappearances”, Extrajudicial Killings and Unlawful Detentions. December 2003 – June 2004") [#24473], [ID 11211]

Document(s): Open document

24.06.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

At least 34 men from an unofficial settlement for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Altievo, Nazran region, Ingushetia were arrested and are held in incommunicado detention at an unknown location and are at risk of torture or ill-treatment ("Russian Federation - UA 210/04") [#23683], [ID 11212]

"Amnesty International is seriously concerned for the safety of at least 34 men from Chechnya who were arrested at an unofficial settlement for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Altievo, Nazran district, Ingushetia. They are being held incommunicado detention, at an unknown location and are at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

At around 6.30pm on 23 June, Ingush police accompanied by federal force personnel reportedly entered an unofficial settlement, which consists of poorly renovated cowsheds and subsidiary buildings at a former dairy farm. They reportedly ordered more than 1000 IDPs, including women and children, to vacate their living quarters whilst they carried out an inspection. Excessive force was reportedly used during the inspection, as shots were repeatedly fired in the air and into the walls of the former dairy farm. Some of the women were also reportedly made to partially undress in front of men.

Ingush police from the Nazran district police department (ROVD) -- who significantly had suffered heavy losses during coordinated attacks by Chechen fighters on 21 June -- were reportedly amongst those present during the operation. They claimed to have found grenades and/or camouflage uniforms during their inspection and reportedly told the IDPs that the settlement would be burnt down if they did not leave within two days.
Representatives from the non-governmental human rights organizations, Memorial and the Russian Chechen Friendship Society, called to the scene were present during some of the operation. They were, however, forced out of the settlement by police; and an NGO representative who tried to take photographs was reportedly beaten and had his camera smashed.

On 24 June, representatives from gas and electricity suppliers are reported to have disconnected the supplies to the settlement. Families of the detained men also reportedly descended upon the main internal affairs department in Nazran on the same day, demanding information on the whereabouts of their loved ones. However, no information was provided to them, or NGO representatives who accompanied them, about the whereabouts of those detained."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

04.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: People detained without observing mandated procedures ("Country Assessment - April 2002") [#7107], [ID 11234]

"4.20. There are credible reports that police throughout the country detain people without observing mandated procedures, and fail to issue proper arrest warrants or receipts for confiscated property. This is especially true for people from the Caucasus. Furthermore, reports indicate the use of physical abuse by officers during such arrests. Police are also reported to plant drugs and other false evidence as pretexts for arrests, and to arrest and detain people based on their political views and religious beliefs.


4.21. According to the Constitution, arrests, police detention, and searches require judicial approval, but the Constitution also states that until the Criminal Procedure Code is brought into conformity with the Constitution, existing legislation, which provides for the Procuracy rather than courts to approve arrests and searches, remains in effect. In the absence of measures to implement the procedural safeguards contained in the Constitution, suspects are often subjected to uneven and arbitrary treatment by officials acting under the Criminal Procedure Code and presidential decrees. Procurators are able to issue orders of detention without judicial approval and police detain suspects for up to 48 hours without a warrant. There have also been credible reports that persons have been detained far in excess of the permissible periods for administrative offences, in some cases so that police officials can extort money from friends or relatives. The practice of detaining individuals arbitrarily for varying periods of time, both within and in excess of permissible periods, is common, and often resolved only with bribes. Some authorities have taken advantage of the system's procedural weaknesses to arrest people on false pretexts for expressing views critical of the government."

Document(s): Open document