The Committee against Torture is a Russian non-governmental organization acting in the sphere of human rights protection. At present the Committee has an official status of an interregional NGO. The Head-quarters of the Committee against Torture are located in Nizhny Novgorod, there are representations in Chechnya, Mariy El and Bashkiria. Besides, the CAT has a branch-office in Orenburg region.
   The Committee was founded in 2000 in Nizhny Novgorod by a number of famous Nizhny Novgorod human rights defenders, including the present NGO head Mr. Igor Kalyapin. It was created as a human rights organization with the purpose of exercising public control over the problem of torture application and violent treatment in Russia and granting professional legal and medical aid to torture victims.
For more than 9 years major activity of the CAT encompasses processing of applications containing complaints about tortures, inhuman or degrading treatment. In the context of such applications the Committee against Torture carries out a public investigation, represents the victim’s interests in court and in Investigation bodies, provides assistance on the issue of obtaining compensation, and also, if necessary, provide medical rehabilitation. The method of public investigation of torture and violent treatment applications is a unique procedure worked out by the Committee against Torture itself.
In the framework of a public investigation lawyers of the Committee conduct an independent self-contained investigation, but its results are used as admissible evidence within the official investigation and later in the courtroom.
The hallmark of the organization is its professional legal approach to solving tasks connected to with protection of human rights and lawful interests. This approach has been used since the Committee was created and accounts for the success of the organization.
From the moment of the Committee foundation its specialists have checked about 1000 applications dealing with human rights violations, have conducted hundreds of public investigations and have made the state and its representatives pay millions of rubles as compensation to people who suffered from unlawful actions of law enforcement agents. Besides, thanks to the efforts of Committee lawyers, more that 70  law enforcement agents were convicted under torture cases.
Another very important mechanism of human rights protection that has no systematic counterparts in the Russian human rights community and is widely used by the Committee is representation of Russian citizens at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg by highly-qualified Committee lawyers. By now specialists in European law of the Committee have prepared and filed 50 applications to the ECtHR.
Under the most wide-known case, “Mikheyev vs. Russian Federation”, January 2006, the Court adjudicated in favour of the applicant, found Russia in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and obliged the state to pay Mr. Mikheyev 250 thousand euros as compensation. At present this is the biggest compensation the European Court enforced upon Russia.
    Today the Committee against Torture expands its presence in the regions, builds up its activities and is the largest human rights NGO in Russia specializing in professional study of the issue of tortures, investigation of torture claims and provision of medical and legal assistance to torture victims.

Contact information:

Interregional non-governmental organization "Committee Against Torture"

Regional Departments of the Committee against Torture:

Nizhny Novgorod Office
Investigation Department head: Sergey Mazikov tel. +7 (831) 434-34-81 20072007_78@mail.ru

Orenburg office of the Committee against Torture
Head: Vyacheslav Dyundin tel. +7 (3532) 77-50-88 orenkpp@yandex.ru

Bashkirian Representation of the Committee against Torture
Representation head: Vladislav Sadykov tel. +7 (347) 292-58-90 kpprb@mail.ru

Chechen Representation of the Committee against Torture
Representation head: Sulyan Baskhanov tel. +7 (8712) 22-31-83
Ngo-cat@mail.ru

Mariy El Representation of the Committee against Torture (on the basis of partner NGO Man and Law )
Representation head: Dmitry Yegoshin tel. +7 (8362) 41-81-52 degoshin@yandex.ru