News on the topic: torture
02.10.2014 Investigator Skavarodkin admits that Piatro Kuchura was tortured
Piatro Kuchura, who was tortured in Mahiliou penal colony No. 15, obtained copies of two resolutions on the appointment of a forensic medical examination to establish the consequences of poisoning him with chlorine.
24.09.2014 The Supreme Court did not put an end to the case of man died in temporary holding facility of Svetlahorsk
The mother of Alexander Akulich is seeking punishment for employees of Svetlahorsk police department for the death of her son. There appeared a hope that her complaint about the refusal to institute criminal proceedings, previously dismissed by the Svetlahorsk regional court, will be reviewed.
19.09.2014 Examination is still a stumbling block in the case of torture of Peter Kuchura
On September 19 have been a year since Peter Kuchura was poisoned by chlorine in Mogilev Penal Colony #15. All this time, the investigating authorities, covering the administration of the colony, avoided forensic examination, which could confirm the torture of the prisoner.
29.08.2014 Mahiliou residents ask authorities to reverse restrictions on mass events
Dozens of Mahiliou have signed a collective appeal to the Council of Ministers of Belarus, where they ask to cancel the decision of the Mahiliou City Executive Committee ‘On Mass Events in the City of Mahiliou”.
22.08.2014 “Have you ever wondered how much sorrow has the twenty years of your office brought to the citizens of this country?”
Liudmila Kuchura has sent her petition to Aliaksandr Lukashenka to congratulate him on the 20th anniversary of his presidency, recalling that, thanks to his “parental care”, her husband Piotr Kuchura has already served ten years for a crime he did not commit.
05.08.2014 Lukashenka awards order to policeman who kicked journalist
Lukashenka has given medals, orders and ranks of popular and honoured – to a few dozen people.
04.08.2014 Posters against police violence appear in Svetlahorsk
August 2, Svetlahorsk activists of the anarchist movement held an action against police brutality.
29.07.2014 Mahiliou Prosecutor orders fresh probe into torture report
Having considered an appeal by the wife of Piotr Kuchura, prisoner of penal colony No. 15, against a refusal to initiate criminal proceedings against the prison administration, Mahiliou City Prosecutor Mikalai Vulvach quashed the decision by the Mahiliou interdistrict department of the Investigative Committee.
18.07.2014 Liudmila Kuchura does not give up in confrontation with investigative authorities
After a probe sought by the wife of prisoner Piotr Kuchura, Liudmila, the Mahiliou interdistrict department of the Investigative Committee refused to open a criminal investigation into the illegal actions of the administration of penal colony No. 15. Liudmila Kuchura has appealed the decision to the City Prosecutor.
14.07.2014 Shocking photographic evidence of Svetlahorsk police crime
Until now, the Human Rights Center "Viasna" haven't published photos taken by the mother of Aliaksandr Akulich, deceased in the temporary detention center of the Svetlahorsk District Police Department. The Court finally refused to open a criminal case on the fact of his death, claiming that numerous traces of beatings on the body of the deceased "had no causal connection with the death".
14.07.2014 Blogger Aleh Zhalnou's son faces 4 years in jail
In Babruisk, hearing were held in the criminal case against Aliaksei Zhalnou, son of the well-known Babruisk blogger Aleh Zhalnou, who record and puts on the web audio and video recordings of illegal actions of police and traffic police. As a result, he spends almost all spare itme in courts and at interrogations.
10.07.2014 Valiantsina Akulich's review complaint concerning son's death in Svetlahorsk remand prison turned down
Chairman of the Homel Regional Court Siarhe Shautsou dismissed the review appeal of Svetlahorsk resident Valiantsina Akulich, who has been trying to achieve the punishment for police officers involved in the death of her son.
02.07.2014 Mother of Ihar Ptichkin: Why did experts fail to determine cause of my son's death after 6 months?
Ihar Ptsichkin, an inmate of a temporary detention facility in Minsk, died of a cardiac arrest, but causes of it have not been found out.
26.06.2014 Piotr Kuchura’s wife: Some progress in investigation of torture report
The ongoing efforts of Viasna’s human rights defenders and the wife of Piotr Kuchura, who is serving a sentence of imprisonment in Mahiliou penal colony No. 15, have finally brought certain results. It must be a complaint sent to the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of the convict, who was reportedly poisoned while in prison, that made the investigating authorities react to torture reports.
17.04.2014 Expert speaks about principles of torture investigation
Expert on the prison system, lawyer Pavel Sapelka prepared an analytical report which summarizes the provisions of the existing international instruments to effectively investigate torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as legal regulations and medical ethics in relation to this problem.
