Follow-up of case RUS 050908_Release on medical grounds of Mr. Nikolay Baluev

Geneva, 14 November 2008

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received new information about the following situation in the Russian Federation.

New Information

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source and by Antenna International, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture network, that Mr. Nikolay Nikolaevich Baluev (born in 1974), was released on medical grounds, provided that he does not leave the city, from the prison hospital, on 1 November 2008, by a decision by the Novosibirsk Regional Court.

However, according to the same information, the Novosibirsk Region Prosecutor’s office has filed an appeal before the Russian Supreme Court against the Regional Court’s ruling. Mr. Nikolay Baluev is at risk of being sent back to SIZO-1.

Mr. Nikolay Baluev is reportedly currently at home as the family does not have the means to cover any hospitalisation. He was examined by a local doctor but his condition reportedly remains very serious.

While the International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the release of Mr. Nikolay Baluev on medical grounds, it remains concerned for his physical and psychological integrity and fears that he might be sent back to SIZO-1 without having received appropriate medical treatment and care.

Reminder of the situation

OMCT was informed about the serious health condition and the lack of appropriate medical treatment of Mr. Nikolay Nikolaevich Baluev. According to the information received, Mr. Baluev was transferred from SIZO-1 (pre-trial detention centre) to prison hospital on two occasions, on 26 June 2008 and 7 July 2008, as his condition had aggravated. He was reportedly diagnosed with acute meningitis (difficult to treat), chronic sepsis and schizoid personality disorder. He was reportedly fed with food liquid. It was reported that the medical infrastructure at the prison hospital is not sufficient for the treatment required and doctors had recommended his transfer to a civilian hospital. However, it was feared that Mr. Baluev be moved back to his cell at SIZO-1. He was further deprived of any visits, including of his mother.

On 25 August 2008, the Novosibirsk region court reportedly rejected Mr. Baluev's lawyer appeal to release him on grounds of serious health condition. Furthermore, on 1 September 2008, Kalininskiy district court reportedly made a ruling to keep Mr. Baluev in pre-trial custody for two more months.

According to the same information, Mr. Baluev was detained on 13 May 2005 by the Novosibirsk UFSB along his acquaintance Mr. Rusakov Vyacheslav Alexandrovich, for alleged planning of a terror act in Novosibirsk on 9 May 2005. Both were charged under article 30 of the Russian Criminal Code (crime preparation and attempt to commit a crime) and article 205 (terrorism). The charges against Mr. Baluev were reportedly based on the book confiscated in his flat "Rail War" that tells about actions of the guerrillas in Belorussia at the time of the World War II. Mr. Baluev has reportedly always denied any wrongdoing. The investigation reportedly established that Mr. Rusakov was involved into illegal fishing (the explosives were necessary for him to stun fish). On 24 May 2006, when the case of Mr. Baluev and Mr. Rusakov was being considered in court, doctors diagnosed Mr. Baluev's a serious mental disorder and was thereon recognized as being of diminished mental capacity. As a result, the court hearing was postponed and Mr. Baluev was moved to Serbskiy Institute in Moscow to undertake psychiatric expertise. On 10 August 2007, Mr. Rusakov was sentenced to four years of deprivation in detention colony (of minimum security regime) under Article 222 (illegal arms possession) of the Criminal Code. On 14 August 2007, the Novosibirsk regional court made a ruling to send Mr. Baluev to undergo enforced psychiatric treatment which was terminated on 20 May 2008, after what he was transferred to SIZO-1 (pre-trial detention centre).

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Russia urging them to:

1. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Nikolay Nikolaevich Baluev;
2. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

• Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, Faxes:+ 7 095 206 5173 / 230 2408, Email: president@gov.ru;
• Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Ustinov, 103793 g. Moskva K-31, Ul. B. Dimitrovka, d 15a, Russian Federation, Fax: + 7 095 292 88 48;
• Chairwoman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, 103132 g. Moskva, Staraya ploshchad, d 8/5,pod 3, Russian Federation, Fax:+70952064855;
• Vladimir Lukin, Russian Federal Ombudsman for Human Rights, Fax: +7 495 207-53-37;
• Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Fax: + 7 095 237 49 25;
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Fax:+ 7 095 244 2203;
• Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva Av. de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland, e-mail : mission.russian@ties.itu.int, fax: +4122 734 40 44;
• Embassy of the Russian Federation in Brussels, 31-33 boulevard du Régent, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 513 76 49.

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Russia in your respective countries.

Geneva, 14 November 2008

Kindly inform OMCT of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.