| Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir
Lukin has expressed concern over the rising rate of unsolved crimes
in Russia and complaints against the law enforcement agencies' actions
in relation to detained suspects, Interfax news agency reported.
Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday, Lukin said the
number
of unsolved crimes rose 25%, from 2002 to 2003, to over 1.1 million. "A
total of 43.3% of crimes were not solved last year," Lukin was quoted
by the
agency as saying. The ombudsman noted that over 400,000 unsolved crimes
fall
into the category of serious and especially serious crime. In particular,
6,694 premeditated murders went unsolved in 2003, the agency quoted Lukin
as
saying.
He added that about 30% of all complaints filed with the human rights
commissioner's office concerned the activity of the police. He added that
complaints against the police are mainly related to unlawful searches.
"The
detainees are often subjected to beating and even torture - let's call
it
what it is," he said.
At the same time, Lukin admitted that "there is a certain desire
to
cooperate, to understand the situation, and to do something to improve
it on
the part of the Interior Ministry." He said his office has received
over
20,000 complaints from Russian individuals this year.
See also:
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/06/16/lukin.shtml
Human Rights
|
