ECHR Suspends the Extradition of Arbi Zarmaev
The Pax Christi Association website has reported that the European Court of Human Rights has suspended the extradition of Arbi Zarmaev from Belgium to the Russian Federation.
According to the news, on April 5th the ECHR suspended the extradition ruling of the Belgian Ministry of Justice on Arbi Zarmaev, who is a Chechen refugee.
However, Arbi Zarmaev is still living in a darkened 2 x 3 meter isolation cell at the Bruges prison. Also, Arbi’s sister and brother have not been allowed to visit him for almost 10 days. Arbi’s right to communicate by letter or telephone was also revoked by prison administration.
Arbi was seen few days ago by his wife. The prison administration let her at her husband through a window. According to his wife, Arbi was lying motionless on the ground. Around him there were all kinds of medication and in the corners of the cell, a “white powder” seemed to be located.
*Text was written by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco
After the tortures in the prisons of Hasselt and Bruges, Arbi is now totally isolated by Belgian Justice and the direction of the prison of Bruges.
That is the best way to break him and his family.
Some years ago Russia was critisized by the European Union because the Russian government used psychiatry and psychiatric drugs to eleminate all the political opposants in Russia.
But the European Union which is preaching ‘the respect for human rights’ does just te same.
They were isolating and torturing Arbi to make him mad. In the prison of Hasselt they didn’t give him water during 4 days but they were giving him the psychiatric drug Clopixil (a neurolepticum) which is used for so called ‘difficult social contacts’ and ‘fears’ (the fear to be murdered by torture).
In the prison of Bruges they give him the psychiatric drug Zyprexa, a so called antipsychoticum that is used against ‘delusions’ such as hearing, seeing and feeling things that are not there…(solitary confinement, torture,).
Zyprexa may also cause restlessness, extreme fatigue and speech problems.
That’s why the direction of the prison of Bruges said that Arbi “mumbled incoherent things’ (in Chechen language what Belgians can not understand).
The direction of the prison of Bruges wants lo let believe now to everybody, including Arbi’s brother and sister, that Arbi is really mad. That he does not know what he says and wants no further contact.
The direction said that Arbi best can be locked up in a closed psychiatric institution, in a special institution for mentally ill.
But 10 days ago, Arbi talked with his sister and brother. His sister and brother said he was completely exhausted, but his mind was mentally in order.
Just before the meeting of the Belgian Councel of State that confirmed the extradition of Arbi to Russia which is signed some weeks ago by the minister of Belgian Justice after his contact with the Russian embassy, Arbi was totally isolated.
His sister and brother could not longer visit him.
The direction of the prison and Arbi’s lawyer who has good contacts with the direction of the prison
continuously repeated that Arbi was ‘not very well’, “mumbled incoherent things’, ‘wanted not to sign the report notes of the prison for the admission of visits’ and ‘wanted no contact anymore’.
He was only allowed to have contact with his lawyer who has good contacts with the direction of the prison.
Arbi was declared mentally ill and with the aid of the lawyer, they hoped that his family would believe it.
The direction of the prison states that:
‘everybody can visit him but that he does not want some visit’ and that they have ‘to respect his will’.
‘he can phone but that he does not want to sign a report note for permission’
‘he can write but that he does not want to sign a report note for permission’
‘he can have a television in his loft but that he does not want to sign a report note for permission’
Nobody can control what he is really saying and they can say what they want.
Five days ago an italian doctor could visit Arbi, after a lot of problems about his profession (they didn’t believe he was a doctor). Arbi wanted to see his sister and brother. But they wanted do handcuffs around his wrists. He refused it because he had a lot of pain at his wrists. By the torturous treatment, he had deep wounds at his wrists which wre heavely infected. They could not sew the wounds.
I think that the torturous treatment he was undergoing, the totally isolation, all the lies about what is happening, and the neuroleptics, they are making him really mad.
I wrote about it to the minister of justice Stefaan De Clerck (christen-democrat party) who preaches that a ‘human and righteous justice’ but he didn’t answer me.
I wrote to mister Renaal Landuyt, a ‘socialist’ member of Belgian parliament who is specialised in justice and prison matters. He didn’t answer me.
Yesterday I wrote to Bart Staes, a member of the European Parliamant (Greens). I asked him to use his european mandate to visit Arbi in prison. I am waiting his reply.
I wrote to Pax Christi, a association that’s also working about human rights.
I contacted the Directorate General of the Belgian prisons in Brussels ( a few steps away of the Cabinet of Minister of justice Stefaan De Clerck). They promised me ‘to investigate the case’ but the only result of their ‘investigation’ is that the dramatic situation remains unchanged.
In the prison of Hasselt a Chechen without legs was locked up for 4 months.
In the prison of Bruges there is still detained a Chechen without legs.
In 2005 there were serious problems with some Kurds who where tortured on an unimaginable way in the prison of Bruges.
In 2008 the UN-Comittee Against Torture condamned Belgium for its torture practices in prisons.
Belgium was also criticized on a European level. But nothing changes and even the Belgian Prison Act of 2004 that provided for inspection, is not applied.
Today, we had planned with 30 Chechens an action for the liberation of Arbi who is still isolated in the most horrible circumstances, in the prison of Bruges.
When we arrived at the Royal Palace in Brussels, there were about 40 policemen in 3 special police cars who were waiting us.
It was the same police force (with also members of the secret police) as 14 days ago when we were coming together at the buildings of the European Parliament.
They forbidded us to spread leaflets and to make photos.
They repeated all the time that we ‘needed a permission for this manifestation’.
It is on this way that every news about Arbi is blocked by the Belgian authorities and the Belgian minister Stefaan De Clerck (christen-democratic party) who made a deal with the Russian government for Arbi’s transportation.
The association Pax Christi said on 8.4.2011 that the European Council (ERC) didn’t accept that Arbi should be detained in a Russian or Chechenen prison because there was a serious risk that he would be tortured and murdered as was the case with a lot of other Chechens.
The Belgian minister of Justice and the Belgian Council were relativating this risk all the time. But how can they relativate it if they could not even prevent that Arbi was tortured in the prisons of Hasselt and Bruges ? How can they relavate it while Arbi is totally isolated and treated with psychiatric drugs in a Belgian prison ?
We have contacted the european authorities but they want to cover up this case because they will prove that we are living in ‘free and democratic’ european countries (which tolerate torture practices in european prisons).
We contacted also the European Comitee Against Torture and the UN Comitee Against Torture but they didn’t reply while the Belgian State was regularely condamned for torture practices in its prisons.
Arbi’s family is very afraid. She thinks that Arbi will not leave alive the prison in Bruges. During almost 14 days the Belgian authorites are blocking every social contact of Arbi. 24 hours on 24 hours he is closed up and they are making him mad with psychiatric drugs.
The family will not stop their actions. New and better organized actions without infiltration of the Belgian secret police are already planned.
This reminds me pretty much of a Hitlers Regime of 1942! How can a member of state such as Belgium treat prisoners like that? I think they should release him as a matter of urgency and the case should be investigated as to why a democratic state treats its prisoners the way Arbi Zarmaev is treated.
NEW ACTIONS FOR ARBI ZARMAEV !
Arbi Zarmaev is again arrested. He is again isolated in Bruges prison where he was isolated, tortured and treated with neuroleptics to make him crazy. He was arrested on the moment he was going to the police station in Ostende. His family can not contact him. This is again a violation of the Belgian prison act (2004) which never has been applicated. The European Union has a big problem with the respect of human rights. Irish political prisoners are mistreated and tortured on the same way as in Belgium.
We are all talking about ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ in the Middle East but since 2006, Marcel Vervloesem, member of our association and researcher in the childporn case Zandvoort (88.539 victims), has an interdiction to talk with the press. During 2 years he was tortured in Bruges prison. One year ago he was freed (and still alive) but his health was totally broken by the mistreatment in prison. He has again an interdiction to talk with the press; he can not work with organisations fighting child abuse; Belgian Justice has forbidden him to contact the members of his association who were visiting him during 2 years (every week) in prison.