‘Torture is Now Russian State Policy,’ Head of Committee Against Torture Says in Disbanding His Group

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 12 – Sergey Babinets, the head of the Russian Committee Against Torture, said his group was disbanding after being classified as a foreign agent by the Russian government, an action that makes clear that the current regime supports the use of torture and will oppose anyone who speaks out against it.

            Apparently, he continues, “tortures are now part of state policy and those who struggle against tortures are obviously foreign agents. At the same time as genuine patriots by the logic of the justice ministry should be “delighted by the sound of an electric charge passing through a human body” (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=62A8374523462).

            Over the 21 years of its existence, Babinets says, “the Committee received 3178 reports about the violation of human rights in Russia, succeeded in getting more than 297 million rubles (five million US dollars) in compensation for the victims, won 78 cases at the European Court for Human Rights, and succeeded in having charges laid against 159 siloviki guilty of torture.”

            Although the group is disbanding for now, its staff will continue to carry forward the 188 cases in which it is now involved. “Our responsibility is to carry them through to the end.” What the group will do in the more distant future, Babinets says, is something he and his colleagues will announce “in the nearest future.”