Human rights advocate and Presidential council for Human Rights expert Vladimir Osechkin has reported freedom of expression violations in penal colony №7 in Tver. Inmates and their relatives appealed to Oscechkin saying they had been seriously injured by the staff, he told Index on Censorship.
According to Osechkin, Pavel Kaitsukov was released on 23 January after four years in the colony for use and storage of drugs, and immediately went to hospital where he was diagnosed hard brain concussion. This, he said, was the consequence of the colony’s staff’s response to his attempt to complain about harsh treatment, including numerous insults and “groundlessly” locking him up in penal isolations wards.
He adds that on 19 January the staff commanded inmates should leave the cells and run through corridors with about 20 staff members who beat the inmates to Rammstein’s song “Murder”. Kaitsukov told Osechkin he asked for the colony’s head and a local prosecutor, but was beaten harder instead, lost his front teeth and was concussed.
After Kaitsukov’s term ended on 23 January he came to Moscow and filed a number of complaints to the General Prosecutor’s office from himself and other inmates — their written complaints had not been sent out from the colony, but had been allegedly torn or burnt, he says, noting that inmates were beaten for complaining.
Pavel Kaitsukov’s allegations were later confirmed by two other inmates, Ibragim Sardalov and Ruslan Artskhanov. They are still serving their terms –— for larceny and robbery with violence respectively — and appealed to Osechkin through their relatives. The pair have claimed they were repeatedly beaten for their Chechen nationality. Sardalov is to be operated on because slivers got into his injured leg after one of the beatings and caused infection. Artskhanov has got cancer. Both of them have filed complaints to prosecutors.
The response from Tver colony superiors is yet to be heard by the public. Vladimir Osechkin says the three victims have reported psychological pressure after speaking out, including the released Kaitsukov, who said he had been receiving phone calls from his former cellmates who “asked him to take back complaints and stop the scandal about the colony from flaming up”. Osechkin says those inmates were forced to call him because they had been under pressure themselves.
“Inmates are deprived of their right to express concerns about administration’s illegal actions, by threats of physical violence and of being sent away to North Russian colonies where their relatives can’t visit them”, Osechkin explains.
“This is legacy of the Gulag: inmates are supposed to work in colonies. But in Tver’s colony they are forced to work for miserable fees (up to 30 roubles — 0.6355 GBP — a month), like slaves. They are put in penal isolations wards if they refuse, and if they dare to file complaints to prosecutors, they are beaten and their complaints are torn”, he continues.
The investigation into Tver colony №7 human rights abuse is yet to be launched, although Tver prosecutors and a local non-governmental supervisory committee has already started interviewing inmates. Russia’s Public Chamber and Presidential Council for Human Rights members have expressed concerns about the reported incidents and promised to see to the situation.
A year ago today, mass protests took place at the now demolished Pearl Roundabout in the Bahrain capital, Manama. This year protesters have been attempting to return to the square where, for a month last year, thousands gathered to call for change. Protesters documented their failed attempts to reach the roundabout on 12 February, when a march to the symbolic square was quickly crushed by security forces. Clashes have escalated in the lead up to the anniversary of Bahrain’s mass protests, which has now claimed at least 60 lives.
During the attempt to return to the roundabout on Sunday, activist and prolific Twitter user, Zainab Al-Khawaja was arrested by security forces, having previously been arrested and released on bail in December. According to her sister Maryam Al-Khawaja, head of foreign relations for the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Zainab was detained on charges of “illegal gathering” and “disturbing the peace”. She will be in prison for the 14 February protests, like her father, who is currently serving a life sentence for his participation in protests last year.
Still, protesters are determined to return to the heavily monitored square. Last night, hundreds were dispersed through the use of tear gas by officials.
Prominent human rights activist and director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, said that he was taking his family to the roundabout to remind the government that they have “legitimate demands”, to “give people strength” and to show the commitment of leaders:
This week the departure lounge at Bahrain’s airport seems to be full of people who were turned back at the passport desk without being allowed into the country. The authorities are incredibly sensitive about who’s going to see what and report what during the days around the 14 February anniversary of last year’s mass protests.
Bob Naiman, an American who was refused entry a couple of days ago, said that groups of British and Spanish business people were among the human rights observers and journalists being shut out. I didn’t get that far myself this time. I’d planned to go to Bahrain at the end of January, but a week before I was going to leave I received the dreaded letter telling me not to bother, that I should wait until March before I tried to get into Bahrain, when a committee set up to implement reforms would have done its work.
The week before Rick Sollom from Physicians for Human Rights was turned away when he landed in Bahrain. Authorities told him that “all government officials are under tremendous work pressure” and that he should come back after the end of February when a trip would be “more beneficial.” Then last week some journalists were allowed visas to enter and others weren’t, notably Nick Kristof of the New York Times, whose brilliant coverage of Bahrain has made him persona non grata with the regime.
These are stiff reminders that the Bahraini government should be judged on its actions, not its words. Denying (rather, “delaying”) access to human rights organisations is a hallmark of repressive regimes. Bahrain already ticked many of those boxes in 2011. Mass arrests? Check. Torture? Check? Deaths in custody? Check. Shootings of civilians? Unfair trials? Attacks on places of worship? Targeting of peaceful dissidents? Check, check, check, check.
Of course Bahrainis are more than capable of reporting what happens and distributing it everywhere, which makes the attempts to restrict access all the more farcical. Bahraini activists and journalists are among the most tech-savvy in the world, and events are being relayed at the speed of Twitter both day and night. So why Bahrain thinks it’s a good PR move to keep prominent international human rights organisations and journalists out is anyone’s guess. No-one really benefits from this — we don’t get in, and the Bahraini government looks bad. The only winner is the coffee shop in the departure lounge.
After the events of 13 March 2011 and the shameful attack on University of Bahrain (UoB) students by a group of militias that supported by the Bahraini regime, the UOB administration dismissed more than 400 innocent students and many of them get arrested. I was one of the students expelled because of participating in some protests in and outside the university.
A while later, the administration decided to bring the expelled students, but not all of them, back for the start of the next semester. There are more than 30 banned who have not been allowed to continue studying at University of Bahrain. The university changed to a place that you could not study in; it was like a military base with scattered checkpoints. Many students could not attend their classes on time because of the checkpoints. Barbed wire surrounded everything. The General Directorate of Criminal Investigation (CID) agents were in every corner. Armed forces were spreading at all of the gates, and there were more pictures of the regime than educational boards and banners in the university.
In addition, two female students kidnapped from the campus were tortured by masked people with the assistance of University of Bahrain security.
A few months ago, University of Bahrain administration told the rest of the expelled students that they can continue studying by the beginning of the next term. Afterwards, a group of regime supporters protested at the campus against the decision, but neither the security team nor the Ministry of Interior (MoI) forces tried to stop them by saying it was peaceful, proving the double standards about dealing with protests and gatherings
Mohammed Bahar is a University of Bahrain student who was dismissed during the crackdown last year
