To: Mutabar Tadjibayeva, head of the international human rights organization “Fiery Hearts Club”.

Good day! We are the Zaripovs family, from the Republic of Tatarstan, Chistopol city. We were given your e-mail and told that you could help us. We are sending you a document where all the details of the case are written. Our son was tortured by police.

We are parents of Rafael Zaripov. Father – Nakip Zaripov, repair refrigerators, mother – Roza Zaripova, work as a cleaner at “Gorgaz” company.

On December 19, 1983, our first child was born, we named him Rafael. Rafael was very obedient and good boy. He studied at school #5 in Chistopol. He studied at this school from the first grade. During studies at school, he showed a good behavior, great knowledge in all subjects, was talented and diligent in everything, intellectually developed, took an active part in many activities of his class and the school finishing all tasks, actively participated in labor campaigns, cultural activities, repaired and improved school classrooms.

Rafael enjoyed and still enjoys today respect of his classmates. He is sociable, experienced, friendly, disciplined, and always ready to help, never intervened in conflict situations, has no addictions, loves and knows how to work, mannerly, has high moral ethical values, determined. Rafael was brought up in full, decent family. In family relationships he is trusted by others, friendly, respectful to elders and parents… (Extract from school characteristics given to Rafael Zaripov).

After finishing high school, Rafael entered KAMPI (Polytechnic Institute of Kamsk), studied there from 2001 to 2006. During his studies, he showed himself only from the good side, never missed classes, and passed all final tests on time. He was also active in students and sporting life of INEKO (Engineering and Economics State Academy of Kamsk). Very sociable, balanced, calm, polite and correct with teachers… (Extract from Institute characteristics of Rafael Zaripov).

Here are the characteristics from Imam of the mosque “IKHLAS” in Chistopol: “Rafael attends prayers in mosque since 2011 and proved to be a positive person, in compliance with traditional Islam of Abu Hanifa’s madhab.”

Our son was a healthy boy, was never sick, and never was registered in any hospital. He didn’t serve in the army due to a surgery done in 2011. In 2010, he had a surgery in his inguinal hernia. Already in 2011, Rafael was healthy and did not medical care.

My son and I worked together, he installed air conditioning systems in summer, and when the season ended, in winter, he worked repairing refrigerators. On 14th, we worked in Chistopol, on 15th we had calls from the neighboring district, and we went there to work.

There were several calls that day. We worked late into the night with my son. On the 16th there were also calls from the neighboring district, and we again worked until late at night. 17th was a day off. Rafael was at home. In the morning, he took his wife to the hospital, and then visited her in the evening, took some food to her. Thus, on 15th, 16th and 17th my son was next to me during the whole time – was at worl during the days, and at home at nights. Therefore, accusations that my son allegedly my son set fire to church and launched missiles during these days are nothing but blatant lie.

It all started on November 29, when a policeman came to our home and asked to come to the police station of Chistopol. On November 28, my daughter-in-law gave birth to a stillborn child, and we had to take it from the hospital. The police officer said that it would take about half an hour or an hour, we decided, as decent and law-abiding citizens, to go to the police station. I was not allowed to go in. According to my son, he passed a lie detector, and there was no deviation in results, the officer took my son to the door, shook his hand and thanked for coming.

On the same day after dinner, we took Rafael’s son, our grandson, from the morgue, and we buried him. On December 4, the same officer called to our home on the phone, invited Rafael to come to the police station of Chistopol at 9:00 am on December 5, for a conversation. We came to police station at 9:00 am, we thought that he would again be interviewed and released, but that day he was not released. Our car “VAZ – 2114” was searched and put on penalty parking, and we did not see our son on that day. They said he was taken to Nijnekamsk city.

On December 6, I received a call form a duty lawyer Yana Viktorovna. She said Rafael would be taken to court. He was given two months in temporary detention center. The next day my wife and I went to Nijnekamsk, where we signed an agreement with a lawyer. The lawyer promised to arrange a meeting with our son in the detention center. He went twice to temporary detention center of Nijnekamsk city, but he did not see Rafael there. They said he was taken to an investigative experiment.

On December 8, 2013, the lawyer was able to see our son. Rafael told him what happened to him. After the court in decided to keep him in custody, operative officers of interior department of Nijnekamsk regularly took him out of the temporary detention center, and brutally tortured him. On December 7, 2013, he was taken from the detention center in the morning and brought back only late at night. He was tortured for about 8-10 hours, with a few interruptions, and perpetrators used different torture methods.

They demanded confession in manufacturing some rockets or grenades, setting fire in churches, and to name accomplices. Perpetrators were in masks, and they put a hat on Rafael’s head, and pulled it down to his eyes, so that he would not see what was happening. He was physically hurt. In particular, his body was bent so that his head touched on his feet. They fixed him in such a position without giving him a change to get up straight, and he was hung to some bar, they used electric shocks to various parts of his body, in particular to the most sensitive areas, to the genital area, urinary bladder, stomach, etc.

After all this torture, his legs are partly paralyzed, he cannot walk, suffers severe pain throughout the body, he can hardly put his signature, he cannot write, his hands are swollen, and his internal organs and back hurt, very painful to go to the bathroom, urinates blood. On December 8, he was brought out (or rather dragged), but seeing his condition officers took him back, but promised to “break him” every day for two months, that he better confessed, and that soon he would make “injections of truth”, and if all these would not help, he would be take to Kazan city, where torture would be even worse (according to lawyer Galimov R.J.).

Layer addressed the duty officer at the temporary detention center and asked to call an emergency ambulance to our son to help him medically and take him to the hospital. At this time, deputy prosecutor came to examine the detention center. He listened to Rafael personally, took from him a written statement, and also proposed to duty officer to call an ambulance.

Doctors from the ambulance examined Rafael and found multiple bruises on his body. After examining his back, doctor said that there were signs of bone fracture in vertebra of his 11th spinalis (in the lower part of the spine) with the possible infringement of the intervertebral disc and abnormal blood circulation in spinal cord as a result of damage to nerve membranes. Doctor told that our son needed an examination in the hospital with a CT scan. Examining his lower abdomen, the same doctor explained that there are signs of rupture of the bladder walls and ultrasound check was needed. We have serious concerns over conditions of Rafael’s health, as a blood circulatory disorder in the spinal cord, as told in medical sources, often leads to disability, to the immobilization of a person until the end of his life.

Our son was taken back to the cell, and our concerns increased, as officers promised to “break” Rafael further.

The actions of police officer, who used torture against Rafael, constitute an offense.

We ask you to urgently intervene in this situation, because we fear that law enforcement officials may falsify documents, “clear traces” of their misdeeds to avoid responsibility.

Sincerely,

Rafael’s father – Nakip Zaripov

Rafael’s mother – Roza Zaripova

10.01.2014

(Medical documents provided by the Zaripovs family are attached: 1, 2, 3, 4)

From the Editor: The complaint written by parents of a Russian citizen Zaripov Rafael, who fell victim of illegal actions of law enforcement of Tatarstan, was received in the email of Mutabar Tadjibayeva, head of international human rights organization “Fiery Hearts Club.” The human rights activist is going to forward this letter to France-based international human rights organization ACAT (Christian activists against Torture), which widely studies cases of torture around the world and provides legal assistance to victims.