Opinion: Russia's policy of torture on show in Moscow terror 'trial'
France suffered one of the darkest days in its modern history on Nov. 13, 2015, when over 130 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in a devastating terrorist attack in Paris. The epicenter of the attack was the Bataclan Theater, where a concert was taking place. Terrorists entered the venue and slaughtered indiscriminately, leaving survivors to crawl over dead bodies and wade through pools of blood to escape.
In a tragically similar attack on March 24, three gunmen entered the Crocus City Hall concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow and killed at least 137 people. The shooting was also one of the deadliest terror attacks in Russian history.
Both attacks were perpetrated by the Islamic State.
The impact of the attack on French society was immediate: people reacted with a mix of fear, anger, and defiance. I remember watching on TV as events unfolded, stunned by the terrible images, calling friends around the city to make sure that they were safe. While far from perfect, France’s response to the attacks was dignified, culminating in a fair and robust trial for the organizers.
Although it has only been a few days, Russia’s response is just the opposite: mutilation, torture, and humiliation. It is part of a long-standing policy of indiscriminate brutality leveled at suspects, convicts, and innocents alike.
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Terror on trial
The longest, most complicated criminal trial in France’s modern history began in June 2021. Judges heard evidence for 148 days against 20 men suspected of organizing and assisting the Nov. 13 attacks. The idea that even those suspected of the most heinous acts deserve a fair trial is deeply ingrained in French society.
The 2007 documentary “Terror’s Advocate” told the story of Jacques Vergès, defense counsel to the most prolific Nazi war criminal in France and many other controversial clients. Vergès is famous throughout France; his unwavering commitment to the rule of law inspired one of the defense lawyers acting in the Nov. 13 case.
France’s response was not perfect; human rights organizations criticized the prolonged “state of emergency” and counter-terror laws for being heavy-handed and disproportionate. And yet, France guaranteed the human rights of those suspected of organizing the most devastating terrorist attack in the country’s history.
Above all else, the French response was driven by a desire to show the world: “We are not like them.”
Meeting violence with violence
The contrast between France's and Russia’s treatment of terror suspects could not be stronger.
When Russian security forces apprehended one of the terror suspects, they cut off his ear and reportedly forced him to eat it. The suspect’s mutilation was celebrated on Russian social media, including on a neo-Nazi Telegram channel with more than 8 million followers. The mutilated man appeared in court draped in bloodied bandages and covered in bruises.
Other videos, met with similar adulation, show Russian security forces electrocuting a naked man.
In a Kafkaesque display, another suspect was arraigned for his trial while unconscious. Faced with the man’s limp, silent body, the presiding judge determined that the suspect “confessed to all charges.”
Russia’s torturous acts and the complete denial of a fair trial amount to blatant human rights violations. To date, we have no way of knowing whether the four men actually committed the acts with which they are charged. But their cruel and barbaric treatment shows what awaits any group labeled as terrorists by the Russian state – regardless of whether they have committed a crime or been convicted of one.
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‘Welcome to hell’
Even as the Islamic State released harrowing footage of the Crocus City Hall attack, clearly demonstrating the group’s responsibility, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Ukraine helped the terrorists. This is nothing new. The Kremlin persistently labels Ukrainians so-called “terrorists” and “Nazis.”
In Russia’s eyes, there is no difference between the terrorists who carried out the Crocus City Hall attack on the one hand and innocent Ukrainian civilians and soldiers following the laws of war on the other.
Ukrainians face brutal torture in all occupied territories. The United Nations recently confirmed that Russia’s torture of Ukrainians is “widespread and systematic.” As the Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts were liberated, survivors reported that beatings, electrocution, and humiliation were routine under occupation for those considered “too Ukrainian.”
Torture has been a mainstay of Russian policy at home and abroad. More than 20 years ago, human rights investigators documented Russia’s torture tactics in Chechnya. “Welcome to hell,” the prison guards told detainees. Today in Ukraine, Russian forces use the same greeting and the same methods.
As many as 11 million Ukrainians are trapped in Russian-occupied territory. With every day that passes, more are dragged into Russia’s torturous detention system. Their only hope is that Ukraine will free them before Russia’s torture destroys them.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.
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