RUS 201211
Denial of medical care/ Arbitrary detention/ Fear for the safety
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation inthe Russian Federation.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the arrest and administrative detention of Mr. Sergey Udalzov, leader of the political group Left Front and one of the organisers of a peaceful protest against alleged election fraud that took place in Moscow, beginning of December 2011. OMCT is concerned about his health since he has been denied adequate medical care.
According to the information received, Mr. Sergey Udalzov was arrested on 4 December 2011, the day of parliamentary elections in Russia, by policemen in plain clothes at the exit of a metro station, in Moscow, and sentenced to five days administrative custody for allegedly refusing to obey lawful demand of the police. According to a witness’s testimony, the place of arrest indicated in the police report was not the one where the arrest took place.
On 7 December 2011, Mr. Sergey Udalzov was taken to the hospital after he started a dry hunger strike. The term of his sentence ended on 9 December 2011 but he was not released. When he tried to leave the hospital to participate in a protest rally on 10 December 2011, he was reportedly anew detained and sentenced to 15 days administrative detention. On 11 December 2011, he was again taken to the hospital but the police reportedly put pressure on the doctors to discharge him. The next day, on 12 December 2011, he was brought back to the detention centre located on Simferopolskiy Boulevard.
According to the same information, from 14 December 2011 to date, Mr. Sergey Udalzov has been taken several times to the hospital but, because of the pressure exerted by officers from the Department to Combat Extremism and the Federal Security Service (FSB) on the doctors, he has not been properly examined and has not received adequate medical assistance despite his condition. OMCT fears that the security forces are denying him access to adequate medical examination and treatment in order to sanction him. OMCT recalls that such actions violate Russia’s obligations under international human rights law and OMCT therefore urges the competent Russian authorities to allow without any interference medical treatment of Mr. Sergey Udalzov. The competent Russian authorities must ensure that all detainees have full acces to medical treatment by independent professionals and are treated humanly in accordance with, iner alia, the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.
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Furthermore, OMCT is concerned that Mr. Sergey Udalzov has been detained solely for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and of association. OMCT condemns the use of administrative detention to detain persons exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Please write to the authorities of the Russian Federation urging them to:
i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sergey Udalzov and of his family;
ii. Guarantee that he is promptly examined by independent doctors and receives adequate and free medical care, in accordance with, inter alia, the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment;
iii. Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges and judicial process consistent with international legal standards, or if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iv. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into these events, in particular the arbitrary arrest and the denial to grant him adequate medical examination and treatment, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt reparation, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation, is granted to the victim concerned;
vi. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
ØPresident of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, Fax:+ 7 495 206 5173 / 230 2408, Email: president@gov.ru;
ØProsecutor General of the Russian Federation, Yuri Chayka, 125993, Moskva K-31, Ul. B. Dimitrovka, d 15a, Russian Federation, Fax: + 7 (495)692-17-25;
ØChairman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Fedotov, 103132 g. Moskva, Staraya ploshchad, d 8/5,pod 3, Russian Federation, Fax: +7 495 20 64 855;
ØRussian Federal Ombudsman for Human Rights, Vladimir Lukin, Fax: +7 495 207-74-70;
ØMinister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Fax: + 7 495 237 49 25;
ØPermanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva Av. de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland, E-mail : mission.russian@ties.itu.int, fax: +41 22 734 40 44;
Please also write to the embassies of the Russian Federation in your respective country.
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Geneva, 20 December 2011
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Press Release_Kazakhstan
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