STRASBOURG - Torture and abuse remain rife in Chechnya, the Council of Europe's committee against torture said in a report Tuesday, criticising Moscow for not heeding previous tips on how to improve the situation.
"Resort to torture and other forms of ill-treatment by members of law enforcement agencies and security forces (in Chechnya) continues, as does the related practice of unlawful detentions," the committee said, decrying a "climate of impunity" in the war-torn Russian republic.
The committee said it felt forced to make public its findings on the continued abuses in Chechnya in light of the Russian authorities' "failure to improve the situation" despite detailed recommendations following two visits by the committee to Chechnya last year.
The Russian authorities have "consistently" refused to engage in a meaningful way with the committee against torture, which "can only be qualified as a failure to cooperate," the committee said.
It added that its suggestions had "received at most a token response and in many respects have quite simply been ignored."
The committee, which is mandated to carry out unannounced inspections of prisons, police stations and psychiatric hospitals across the 46 Council of Europe member states, has resorted to publishing its concerns on Chechnya twice before in 2001 and 2003.
03/13/2007 13:58 GMT