BBC MONITORING

RADIO LIBERTY REPORTER DESCRIBES TORTURE IN CHECHEN FILTRATION CAMP

Source: NTV, Moscow, in Russian 1100 gmt 29 Feb 00

Radio Liberty correspondent Andrey Babitskiy described torture and beatings

in a Russian filtration camp in Chechnya. In a recorded interview with

Russian NTV, he said the Chernokozovo camp, where he said he was held for a

fortnight, used tear gas and batons on prisoners, including women. The

following is the text of the TV report, broadcast on 29th February:

[Presenter] The report you have just seen contains only a part of Radio

Liberty correspondent Andrey Babitskiy's story. Now we shall show you a few

more pieces of Babitskiy's late-night interview. He talks about his

experience in the Chernokozovo filtration camp, where people suspected of

participation in fighting against Russian troops are being kept.

[Babitskiy] Everything we read about Stalin's concentration camps, everything

we know about German concentration camps, can all be found there. Being a

journalist, I was just "registered" there once. One procedure they have

there, when a novice is being taken out of the cell to the investigator, is

that he has to crawl along the floor under a constant hail of blows from

batons. It is a painful procedure, but you can live through it. It is a sort

of easy "registration" that cannot be compared with the tortures Chechens are

subjected to round the clock, either those who are suspected of collaboration

with illegal military formations or those they want to kick some evidence out

of.

A woman was tortured for two hours on 19th or 20th February. She was really

tortured - I could not find any other word. There were cries testifying to

the fact that a human being was being subjected to excruciating unbearable

pain for a long time.

On 21st February a man was tortured for several hours. They promised to cut

something off him, and dragged him along the corridor.

They enjoyed their small pleasures there, when they would set people off

running on their knees along the corridor. The detainees were helped with

batons to reach an officer at the far end of the corridor and had to address

him as "Mr Colonel" or thank him in a fanciful manner. The range of tortures

was very diversified. Say, a couple of times they filled our cell with

Cheremukha tear gas. The sensation is rather unpleasant. It was difficult to

breath for about 40 minutes or an hour, I had to wet [my hanky] with water -

[changes tack] However, believe me, Cheremukha was not the most terrible

experience. I saw people who had been beaten most brutally, till their backs

were blue. (?Aslanbek Shaipov) from Katyr-Yurt was beaten non-stop. He was

one of those poor devils who was not just "registered" from time to time, but

was beaten in a planned manner. He was summoned in the morning, in the

afternoon and in the evening. He was beaten and beaten and beaten.

By the way, I recollect an interesting detail. While we were spending the

night in a prison van, he had all his teeth beaten out. By the time I was

released, his beatings had practically stopped.

I have told you just a very small part of what I saw, because I stayed there

for a fortnight. I just tried to sum up my impressions.

[Presenter] I would like to add that Babitskiy spoke about his experience in

Chernokozovo camp on Radio Liberty today. There has been no official reaction

to his statements yet. The Prosecutor-General's Office and Interior Ministry

investigation committee representatives said that investigation into

Babitskiy's case would continue and, if he would not cooperate with the

investigation, the restraining measure might be made more severe.