Andrei Sakharov, 1987

ASF Archive Documents

'Filtration' camps during the war in Chechnya

[Получено в мае 1999]. Audio files (Real Audio format) with testimony of former Chechen prisoners in the Russian "filtration" camps. The files are in Real Audio G2 (best sound if you can use them) and Real Audio 2.0 formats.
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The interviews presented in these files were transferred from a tape we received from Chechnya. We do not know the source of the tape and who the interviewer was. Parts of the tape were unusable because of the poor quality of the recording. The remainder was divided into three pieces for downloading convenience.
Part 1
The first piece is approximately seven minutes long. The interviewer (female voice) and the former prisoner, Shirvani Akhmedovich Devi (?) of Argun are at the site of the former "filtration camp". Mr. Shirvani was arrested and brought to this camp on February 26 [1996 (?)]. Mr. Shirvani is describing the workings of the camp and the present condition of the site. He mentions that much physical evidence is rapidly disappearing: the barbed wire is gone, some personal items left by prisoners, especially female, have been taken, etc. At the center of the site they stop by a pit, which Mr. Shirvani describes as the place of "hanging" torture: the prisoners were suspended upside down and lowered until the head was under water, then hoisted up again for questioning. In Mr. Shirvani words "they wanted us all to confess that we were fighters ('boeviki')". In his words, at conclusion of a session, the prisoners were beaten and thrown back into the cells. Another commonly used torture took place in the dilapidated building that used to be a garage. The place was damp with water mist that the guards created using the hoses, so that there was water dripping all the time. Prisoners were left there for many hours gradually getting colder (the described events were taking place during winter). This torture was most often used for women. Mr. Shirvani also explains that prisoners were usually released after relatives paid ransom. The prices mentioned are: 100,000,000 rubles for women (approx. $10,000) and 50,000,000 ($5,000) for men.
[Part 1, Real Audio G2 format, Part 1, Real Audio 2.0 format]
Part 2
This part describes the process of prisoner exchanges and ransoms. The speaker mentions that at least some of the Chechen prisoners were reluctant to be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war because of the possibility of being accused of spying for Russia (i.e., the logic was "Why would the Russians release this particular prisoner"). Apart from exchanges, the only reliable way of getting out of the prison was to pay a ransom. The relatives usually made the arrangements with the prison commander directly. The stable price for men was 50,000,000 rubles.
[Part 2, Real Audio G2 format, Part 2, Real Audio 2.0 format]
Part 3
This part gives background information on the circumstances of the arrests of several prisoners.
[Part 3, Real Audio G2 format, Part 3, Real Audio 2.0 format]
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