Lack of appropriate medical care_Fear for safety

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Russian Federation.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source and by Antenna International, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture network, about the serious health condition and the lack of appropriate medical treatment of Mr. Nikolay Nikolaevich Baluev (born in 1974).

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 has been reportedly diagnosed with acute meningitis (difficult to treat), chronic sepsis and schizoid personality disorder. He is reportedly currently fed with food liquid. It is reported that the medical infrastructure at the prison hospital is not sufficient for the treatment required and doctors have recommended his transfer to a civilian hospital. However, it is feared that Mr. Baluev will be moved back to his cell at SIZO-1. He is further currently 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).

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Nikolay Nikolaevich Baluev. OMCT urges the authorities to immediately release him in order to receive the medical care and treatment he needs as provided for by international human right standards, including the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

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. Order his immediate release in order to receive the medical care and treatments he needs;
3. 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, 5 September 2008

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