Leonid Razvozzhaev: “Tell me that I was tortured!”

Left Front activist Leonid Razvozzhaev, involved in the Anatomy of Protest-2 case, was kidnapped in Kyiv, transported on a private plane to Moscow, secretly convicted without the admission of a lawyer in the Basmanny Court and arrested for two months.

Photo from L. Razvozzhaev’s personal page on VKontakte

“Razvozzhaev was detained in Kiev by the Russian special services and taken to Russia,” writes Socialist Revolutionary Ilya Ponomarev on Twitter . As confirmed information, he reports that the oppositionist was arrested for two months in the absence of a lawyer, and Violetta Volkova will be allowed to see him only tomorrow.

“Tell me that I was tortured!.. They tortured me for two days, kidnapped me in Ukraine...” Leonid managed to tell the journalists.

Lawyer Viktor Drozdov comments on the situation: “Based on what has been published, a citizen of the Russian Federation who has submitted an application for political asylum to the UN on the territory of another state is under dual jurisdiction: the host country and the UN Refugee Convention (international law). In other words, such a person is protected by international law.

The Refugee Convention prohibits any discrimination against refugees. Refugees enjoy some rights on an equal basis with citizens of their host country, and some on the same terms as foreigners. The convention allows for the expulsion of refugees in the interests of national security, but prohibits their return to the state from which they fled for fear of persecution.

Russia is a member of the Convention. What happened is a direct challenge to the UN and the international community of those who kidnapped and transported the opposition leader (on a private plane). ( Subsequently, the information about the private plane was not confirmed - I.N.) The whole question is to clarify the circumstances of how Razvozzhaev ended up in the hands of Russian law enforcement officers, who took him to the Basmanny Court. The detention itself took place in court. What its status was before this is unclear, when and how it arose, if it arose, a big question in the area of ​​observance of Razvozzhaev’s rights in Russia. Further, his statement about torture for two days (recorded on video) could not but have been known to the judge. Until the stated circumstances were clarified, no court had the right to make any decision on detention.”

We must assume that this is a violation of Article 12 and Article 13 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment .

Article 12
Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities conduct a prompt and impartial investigation when there are reasonable grounds to believe that torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction.

Article 13
Each State Party shall ensure that any person who alleges that he has been subjected to torture in any territory under the jurisdiction of that State has the right to lodge a complaint with the competent authorities of that State and to have such complaint examined promptly and impartially by them. Steps are taken to ensure that the complainant and witnesses are protected from any form of mistreatment or intimidation in connection with his complaint or any testimony.