Translated material
Senator Lyudmila Narusova: “Electroshock will not kill our ideas - you can’t say it any brighter”
The idea of a separate criminal article for torture has long been expressed by human rights activists. Do you think there is any better situation now to achieve this?
— Not the best, but, as I understand from the report of the Prosecutor General to the Federation Council, he understands perfectly well that this is unacceptable. I think we will have his support.
Are there any landmark cases that led to the development of the bill?
- Here you go - in Penza (apparently Narusova is referring to the Network case - OVD-Info ). There are Jehovah's Witnesses in Surgut, I have statements from them about the use of torture. Very socially significant, resonant cases. On April 8, in St. Petersburg, I attended a meeting on the Network case. It says that the evidence that exists was extracted by torture and electric shockers. At this trial, on April 8, one of the boys was wearing a T-shirt that said: “Your electric shock will not kill our ideas” (the defendant Viktor Filinkov was wearing such a T-shirt - OVD-Info ) . In my opinion , you can’t say it any brighter.
When do you plan to introduce this bill?
— Until the end of the spring session [of the Federation Council]. The idea arose at parliamentary hearings that took place back in December. They were carried out by our Federation Council committee on constitutional legislation. Both [Ombudsman Tatyana] Moskalkova and Mikhail Fedotov (head of the Presidential Council for Human Rights - OVD-Info ) were present there. There I gave a report on torture. It was decided that a working group would deal with this; I lead the working group. Consultations are currently underway. We do this in close cooperation with Mikhail Fedotov and human rights activists Lev Ponomarev and Zoya Svetova. I foresee a lot of opposition from law enforcement agencies - the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee. I brought in big and serious experts to make sure everything was flawless. It is necessary that everything be impeccable precisely because I expect great opposition from these bodies.
How will torture be defined? What will be the punishment?
- Come on, when I present it... In any case, there will be a serious toughening for the use of torture. Torture will be defined. I hope that as a method of interrogation and extracting confessions, which is now widely used, [torture will cease to be used]... The law will calm down the sadists who do this.