RUS 250711.1
Follow-up of case RUS 250711
Sentencing/ Judicial harassment/ Denial of medical care/ Ill-treatment/ Due process violations/ Lack of an effective investigation/ Fear for the safety
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received new information on the following situation in the Russian Federation.
New information
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 ongoing detention of Ms. Taisia Osipova, the 26-year-old wife of Mr. Sergey Fomchenkov, one of the leaders of the opposition party Drugaya Russia[1]. OMCT has been informed that, following her sentence, on 29 December 2011, to 10 years in prison for “intent to distribute illegal drugs” by the Zadneprovskiy district court, Ms. Taisia Osipova appealed the sentence. The Smolensk Regional Court will reportedly give its verdict on the case on 15 February 2012.
OMCT has also been informed that her health condition has deteriorated. She would be suffering from a kidney inflammation and a swollen pancreas. The judge has reportedly refused to consider her health condition on the grounds that no conclusive medical report was submitted.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Taisia Osipova and the recent sentencing. OMCT fears that her arrest and conviction may have been intended only to sanction the political activities of her husband and herself.
OMCT had earlier been informed about the denial of adequate medical examination and treatment to Ms. Taisia Osipova, since her arbitrary arrest, on 23 November 2010, although she has been suffering from multiple chronic diseases.
According to the information received, Ms. Taisia Osipova was arrested at home, in Smolensk, by around 20 policemen and officers from the Department to Combat Extremism of the Russian Federation, on 23 November 2010. The officers reportedly violently entered Ms. Taisia Osipova’s house and went from one room to another turning everything upside down while forcing Ms. Taisia Osipova to stay with her 6-year-old daughter in one of the rooms.
Ms. Taisia Osipova was brought to the pre-trial detention centre (SIZO) 1, in Smolensk, after the officers allegedly found five packs of greyish substance among her daughter's clothes and a marked 500-ruble note. During the arrest, Ms. Taisia Osipova sustained injuries on her arms. The policemen also allegedly severely beat the family’s dog in front of Ms. Taisia Osipova’s daughter, who then remained locked alone two hours in the bathroom. She was later taken to her aunt by the police.
According to the same information received, Ms. Taisia Osipova was later charged with “intent to distribute illegal drugs” by the Zadneprovskyi district court, in Smolensk, and she was remanded in custody pending investigation. After her arrest, Ms. Taisia Osipova reportedly suffered pressure by officers of the Department to Combat Extremism in order to obtain a confession to the alleged aforementioned crime and information about her husband, who is a senior member of the political opposition party, Drugaya Russia. The pressure reportedly included threats to remove her parental right over her daughter if she refused to collaborate, poor conditions of detention and denial of adequate medical examination and treatment, although she has been suffering from sugar diabetes, pancreatitis, chronic pyelonephritis and chronic toxic-allergic hepatitis[2].
Since January 2011, Ms. Taisia Osipova's lawyers had also presented several requests for a complete medical check-up of Ms. Taisia Osipova on the basis of Article 110, paragraph 1.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedures of the Russian Federation, which allows for the provisional release from pre-trial detention of individuals with serious health conditions (including diabetes type 1), but to no avail. Ms. Taisia Osipova's lawyer subsequently filed a civil lawsuit before the Leninskiy district court of Smolensk. On 16 June 2011, the court reportedly ordered the prison administration to ensure a medical examination of Ms. Taisia Osipova.
On 6 July 2011, Ms. Taisia Osipova was reportedly transferred to the regional hospital of Smolensk but without any prior announcement to her family and lawyer, or any explanation about this transfer. The prison authorities also refused to provide her medical record to the hospital. She was kept two days alone in a hospital room guarded by two security officers and handcuffed to her bed, including during the night (she was also handcuffed when she went to the toilets). She was denied some personal belongings too. On 7 July 2011, Ms. Taisia Osipova was reportedly examined at the endocrinology department of the hospital. The medical conclusions, which were subsequently presented to the court, reportedly only listed the results of the ultrasound, urine and blood tests that were carried out. No diagnosis was allegedly established by the doctors. It is feared that the examination was not thoroughly conducted and no diagnosis established to minimize her medical condition.
According to the same information received, while she was at the hospital, Ms. Taisia Osipova's family and lawyers were not allowed to visit her, although these latter needed to consult her in order to prepare a court session that had been fixed for 8 July 2011. Her lawyers reportedly requested a postponement of the court hearing which was granted, however only for a few hours. The court hearing before the Smolensk Zadneprovskiy district court eventually took place on 8 July 2011 at 2.p.m, during which the aforementioned medical conclusions were presented. Her lawyers asked anew for an independent medical examination, including a drug-addiction test after the prosecutor reportedly accused Ms. Taisia Osipova to be a drug addict. However, this request was denied.
Ms. Taisia Ospivoa’s detention was extended until 11 October 2011, decision that was upheld by the regional court on 21 July 2011. The pre-trial detention was anew extended on 11 October 2011. On 29 December 2011, Ms. Osipova was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “intent to distribute illegal drugs” by the Zadneprovskiy district court.
Please write to the authorities of the Russian Federation urging them to:
i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Taisia Osipova and of her family;
ii. Grant Ms. Taisia Osipova full access to her lawyers and her family;
iii. Guarantee that she is promptly examined by independent doctors and receives adequate and free medical care, in accordance with, inter alia, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
iv. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into these events, in particular into the circumstance of her arrest, the alleged pressure by officers of the Department to Combat Extremism in order to obtain a confession, including the conditions of detention and the denial to grant her 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. Order her immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges and judicial process consistent with international legal standards, or if such charges exist, bring her before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee her procedural rights at all times;
vi. Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt reparation, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation, is granted to the victim concerned;
vii. 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, 14 February 2012
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
[1] Drugaya Russia is a non-registered party that was created on the basis of the coalition under the same name after it fell apart. The coalition was the moving force of Dissenters' Marches held in the period of 2006 to 2008.
[2] See OMCT Open letter to the President of the Russian Federation sent on 21 June 2011.
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