The Crew Against Torture (NGO CAT; , founded as Committee Against Torture, Комитет против пыток, the name was changed in June 2022) is a Russian non-governmental organisation in the field of human rights based in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. CAT provides assistance to victims of torture and conducts independent investigation of torture cases. In addition, CAT publishes reports on systemic problems regarding the ineffectiveness of official investigations and prosecution of torture in Russia.
CAT addresses human rights violations relying mostly upon legal mechanisms available at the national level. In case the national mechanisms have proven ineffective, CAT helps victims to apply to the international human rights bodies (mainly, to the European Court of Human Rights) and represents them in proceedings.
CAT promotes human rights protection in various regions of Russia. As of 2022, CAT operates in five regions: Nizhny Novgorod region, Orenburg region, the North Caucasus, Moscow and Krasnodar region. One of the most notable CAT’s cases is the case of Aleksey Mikheyev, "the first significant victory against torture practices in Russian police".
CAT received numerous awards for its work. In 2018, Olga Sadovskaya, CAT’s vice-chair and human rights activist, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
CAT received several presidential grants and funding from the European Commission of Human Rights.
In 2015, Russian Federation officially designated CAT as a foreign agent.
History
In December 1997, the Nizhny Novgorod Society for Human Rights published a report "On the use of torture in Nizhny Novgorod region" to draw attention of the authorities to the systemic problem of unlawful ill-treatment and to urge them to take action to prevent such crimes. However, the report was dismissed.
In 2000, Igor Kalyapin, a member of the Nizhny Novgorod Society for Human Rights, and other human rights activists founded the "Committee Against Torture" as an independent organization.
In 2001, CAT succeeded for the first time in bringing a police officer to justice. The Nizhegorodsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod found Alexei Ivanov, a CID operational officer, guilty of abuse of power. The court established that Ivanov used violence against a minor Maxim Podsvirov and forced him to defame his brother. Ivanov received a 6-year suspended sentence.
Human rights activists from Orenburg Oblast, Bashkortostan, the Republic of Mari El and the Chechen Republic started using the CAT’s method of independent "public investigation". CAT opened its offices in those regions shortly thereafter.
In 2004, Ivan Chetvertakov, a head of the Bolsheboldinsky Police Department, was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment for using violence against an individual. The case is notable for being the first CAT’s case that ended in a police officer receiving a prison sentence.
On 26 January 2006, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgement in the case of Mikheyev v. Russia. It was the first CAT’s case submitted to the ECHR as well as the first case when the Court acknowledged the responsibility of the Russian Federation for torture.
In 2007, CAT became an interregional public organization.
On 29 December 2014, CAT received a written warning from the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod region stating that CAT was participating in political activities. According to Igor Kalyapin, the prosecutor's office considered CAT as "influencing state policy" because it was telling the public and the authorities about torture in police and about "the Investigative Committee’s poor performance when addressing such cases". CAT’s annual picket on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and its publications about the event were also considered as political activities.
In January 2015, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation designated CAT as a foreign agent organisation following the warning from the prosecutor's office.
On 1 August 2015, CAT’s team decided to close the Committee Against Torture down. The Committee for the Prevention of Torture was created as the CAT’s successor.
On 14 January 2016, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation designated the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and its associate the Bureau of Public Investigations as foreign agent organizations. According to the Ministry, The Committee "received donations from some Russian citizens who worked for organisations with foreign funding". The Committee’s appeal against the decision was rejected by the Leninsky District Court of Orenburg.