CAT/C/62/D/712/2015
United Nations
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
9 January 2018
Original: English
Committee against Torture
Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the
Convention, concerning communication No. 712/2015*, **
Communication submitted by:
Olga Shestakova (unrepresented)
Alleged victim:
The complainant
State party:
Russian Federation
Date of complaint:
27 May 2014 (initial submission)
Date of adoption of decision:
28 November 2017
Subject matter:
Torture in detention
Procedural issue:
Non-exhaustion of domestic remedies
Substantive issues:
Torture — prompt and impartial investigation
Articles of the Convention:
1, 2, 4, 12, 13 and 15
Background
1.
The complainant is Olga Shestakova, a national of the Russian Federation born on
27 March 1973. She claims to be a victim of a violation by the Russian Federation of her
rights under articles 1, 2, 4, 12, 13 and 15 of the Convention. The complainant is not
represented by counsel. She is an attorney by profession.
The facts as presented by the complainant
2.1
On 3 July 2012, the complainant was arrested at 8 p.m. by Federal Security Service
agents while she was meeting her client Ch. in his car. She submits that, at the time of arrest,
no arrest warrant was shown, and therefore, her arrest was illegal. The complainant further
alleges that she was not allowed to exit the vehicle, which had its motor running and into
which exhaust fumes were entering. Despite the fact that the outside temperature was 30
degrees Celsius, the heating of the vehicle was on and she could not turn it off. The
complainant suffered from the heat and she felt that she was suffocating, a situation which
she considers amounts to torture. She was kept in the car for several hours.
2.2
The complainant further submits that the arresting officers issued death threats
against her and her family. While she was in the car, an acquaintance called her on her
mobile telephone; she answered and told him that she was detained. At that point, the
officers took her mobile telephone from her hands. She was then transported to the regional
* Adopted by the Committee at its sixty-second session (6 November–6 December 2017).
** The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the communication:
Essadia Belmir, Alessio Bruni, Felice Gaer, Abdelwahab Hani, Claude Heller-Rouassant, Jens
Modvig, Sapana Pradhan-Malla, Ana Racu, Sébastien Touzé and Kening Zhang.
GE.18-00325(E)