Victims in Zelimkhan Chitigov's torture case apply for state protection

On December 5, in the Karabulak Court of Ingushetia, at the next session on the case dealing with use of torture by policemen, Zukhra, the mother of the victim Zelimkhan Chitigov, moved a petition on providing her family with state protection, said a source from the prosecution party.

"The judge, having considered the essence of the petition, left it without consideration, citing that it was not accompanied by all the required documents. The point is that the prosecutor's office had initiated a criminal case on the threats addressed to Zukhra Chitigova; however, the decision on opening the case was not attached to the petition," the lawyer Toma Tsechoeva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her story, the judge asked to present all the necessary documents by the next session, where state protection of Zukhra Chitigova's family will be considered.

Zukhra Chitigova said referring to the words of the judge that the latter "saw no real threat to the life of the members" of Ms Chitigova's family.

"I acquainted Judge Fatima Ausheva with the photos of the cars, which are always following me; in the yard of our house we all the time see cars with tinted windows and without license plates. For two years already we just exist, not live - in a constant wait that they will come to us. My elder daughter, who was a student of the Ingush University, can't attend lectures, because she receives threats all the time; my younger daughter, who is in 5th form, doesn't go to school. I am afraid for my children," said Zukhra Chitigova.

She said that the defendant Nalgiev was exerting pressure on her at the session on October 28.

"He blocked my exit, put his crutch onto my foot and said: 'I'll swear on the Koran that I hadn't touched your son with a finger, and you must write an application that you have no claims to me," said the woman, adding that the defendant threatened to "break her legs."

The defendants Nalgiev and Guliev intimidate everybody; most witnesses refuse to confirm their signatures put under testimonies of the preliminary investigation, said Zukhra Chitigova.

"They feel their impunity; when Svetlana Gannushkina and Elena Burtina came here, they said: "Bring anybody you want; let the whole Moscow comes here. They'll do nothing to us; and when the trial is over, you won't escape," added the woman.

Meanwhile, Asa Yandieva, an advocate of one of the defendants - Ilyas Nalgiev, a former senior operative agent for especially important cases of the Centre for Combating Extremism of Ingushetia, refused to give any comments on the case.

So far, the "Caucasian Knot" has no comments of the judge.

According to Elena Burtina, a member of the public organization named "Civil Assistance Committee", "it is too early to judge how events will develop."

"The position of the prosecutor's office is of the principle: the witnesses give evidences. However, the judge, according to my impression, fails to exhibit the sufficient severity to the defendants. But this is only an estimate - her real attitude will be seen from the verdict on the case. As for the defendants themselves, they are putting pressure on witnesses. They do it openly, without hiding their behaviour - both at court hearings and in the corridors of the courthouse; and we can only suppose on what happens outside," said Elena Burtina.

The next court session will be held on December 8.