Torture by police in Russia is the subject only of anecdote and rumors; no research exists on the topic. In the absence of such reliable research or official government reports, torture, or the use of excessive force as it is known in the Western world, has been poorly understood and its extent largely unknown. This paper reports on surveys conducted by the nonâgovernmental organization âCommittee Against Tortureâ (Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation) with the support of the John D. and Catherine T. Macarthur Foundation. The surveys were conducted in five regions of Russia: St Petersburg and Pskov (NorthâWest of Russian Federation), Nizhny Novgorod (Central Region), Chita (Siberia) and Komi Republic (North of Russia). A survey of citizens found that an average 58% believed innocent people are tortured by police, and 4% of respondents reported experiencing torture at the hands of the police. In two surveys of prisoners, 39% of respondents in Chita alleged they had experienced threats or cruel physical treatment by police, and 61% of prisoners in Komi alleged they had experienced threats or cruel physical treatment by police. The paper details the types of maltreatment experienced by persons in police detention and emphasizes the need for urgent action to address the problem.View full textDownload full textKeywordspolice, torture, RussiaRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2010.512138
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