Law-enforcement bodies suffer from same illnesses as rest of society

The North Caucasus has been showing an inspiring trend in recent years: the authorities and human rights activists have begun speaking the same language, at least in some areas concerning the activities of the regional law enforcement bodies. In line with this tendency, the presidential plenipotentiary envoy to the North Caucasus, Alexander Khloponin, spoke at the annual Youth Forum "Mashuk-2011” about corruption, calling it the major problem in the region and accused law-enforcement officers of making it so widespread.

Shortly before Khloponin made this statement, the chairwoman of the Civic Assistance Committee, Svetlana Gannushkina, released two documents revealing facts about corruption in the law-enforcement bodies, according to which the investigating authorities do not take immediate actions to solve crimes and at the same time conceal cases of kidnapping.

Gannushkina came to the conclusion that there is total impunity for serious human rights abuses - abductions, disappearances, tortures and extrajudicial executions in the North Caucasus. Responsibility for this lies with the law-enforcement officials, who are in need of rehabilitation no less than those militants hiding in forests. Policemen usually hold records of participating in military actions and continue to have enormous potential for aggression and PTSD from

their time in the army.

The Civic Assistance Committee proposes following the example of Dagestan and other republics of the North Caucasus Federal District and create a special commission to support those who decide to stop their terrorist and extremist activities adapt to civilian life .

Katerina Tesemnikova. Exclusively for VK