PUBLIC AI Index: EUR 50/007/2004

21 December 2004

Further Information on UA 291/04 (EUR 50/003/2004, 15 October 2004) Torture/ill-treatment

UKRAINE Beslan Kutarba (m), aged 33

Revaz Kishikashvili (m), aged 54

The Interior Ministry have written to a Ukrainian human rights organisation, "in answer to letters from human rights organisations which have been sent from almost the whole world," saying that a "careful, professional investigation" has found "no objective confirmation of any torture or physical or psychological pressure" used against Beslan Kutarba and Revaz Kishikashvili, who have been in police custody in Sevastopol since August.

Kutarba's lawyer has written to Amnesty International in rather different terms:

"Your contribution has helped me very much in defending the rights of my client Kutarba. Despite the fact that the police have been able to get confessions from Kutarba in the absence of a lawyer and by using physical force there have been significant advances in the way the procuracy and the police have behaved. In the first place there have been no more interrogations by unauthorized people, secondly the beatings have stopped, and thirdly because of your pressure the administration of the Ministry of the Interior of Sevastopol is controlling who is visiting Kutarba and visitors can only come with official permission. Fourthly, even though it is late they have carried out a medical inspection and they have confirmed that he was beaten and now we can finally start a case against those who ill-treated him. We can now prepare for court to prove that the accusations against him are illegal and to show that the ill-treatment by police officers is a gross violation of the right to protection."

It is clear that mass appeals from the UA network had a significant impact on this case. Amnesty International will continue to monitor both men's situation, and will be campaigning on their behalf.

No further action is requested from the Urgent Action network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.