Eduard Furman
Tortured for a confession in the Ukraine.
Eduard Furman was allegedly tortured in police detention in April 2007 to force him to confess to a series of murders in the cities of Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv. He has spent more than a year in detention awaiting trial.
He was arrested in Dnipropetrovsk on 11 April 2007 by Interior Ministry troops. They took him to the Ukrainian State Security Service, where police investigators interrogated him about the murders. Eduard Furman says they beat him, pressed their fingers into his eye sockets, gave him electric shocks on his testicles and put a gas mask over his head before then proceeding to cut off the air supply.
He says he was then taken to a police station in the city of Brovary, where he was interrogated for four hours, beaten and put in a cell with a criminal suspect who tried to persuade him to confess.
He says that after being beaten again, he confessed to the murder of three people in the Kyiv region. On 24 April 2007 he was charged with murder.
Although his lawyer complained to the Prosecutor General’s office about the torture, no investigation was opened into the allegations. (Information taken from Amnesty Magazine, Issue 150, July/August 2008.)
What you can do
Use the sample letter below to call for a prompt and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture of Eduard Furman, and for those responsible to be brought to justice. Alternatively, you can visit the Amnesty website (http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=462), which will enable you to send a message via e-mail.
Please send copies of your letter to:
1) Oleksander Medvedko
General Prosecutor of Ukraine
Riznitska Str. 13/15
01601 Kyiv
Ukraine
2) His Excellency Dr Ihor Y Kharchenko
Embassy of Ukraine
60 Holland Park
London W11 3SJ
***START OF SAMPLE LETTER***
Dear Mr Medvedko,
I was extremely alarmed to read about the plight of a young man called Eduard Furman who has allegedly been tortured whilst in police custody in your country.
Mr Furman was arrested in Dnipropetrovsk on 11 April 2007 and it has been reported that he was subsequently tortured by police investigators who wanted him to confess to a series of murders in the cities of Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv. The allegations include claims of physical beatings, electric shocks and various other forms of abuse.
The Prosecutor General’s office was informed about the alleged abuse, but as far as I am aware, no investigation has been initiated.
Therefore, I urge the authorities to launch an independent investigation immediately and to ensure that anyone responsible for torturing Mr Furman is brought to justice.
Yours sincerely,
***END OF SAMPLE LETTER***
