A native of Chechnya, Arsan Mukaev, sentenced to life imprisonment, was killed in IK-18 (“Polar Owl”) in the village of Kharp, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. According to investigators, the cause of death was a blow to the head with a brick, inflicted by a cellmate.

The prisoner died after seven days in a coma. The case is being investigated by the Department of the Investigative Committee for the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

In 2001, Arsan Mukaev left the Russian Federation after a criminal case was initiated against him. He was accused of killing 13 people, including security forces. In 2006, Mukaev was arrested in Kazakhstan and extradited to Russia. The man was taken to Chechnya, where, according to the organization Legal Initiative, he was tortured, after which he signed a confession. It was refused to open a criminal case on the fact of torture. The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 2018, the ECHR found violations in Mukaev’s case regarding the prohibition of torture and the right to a fair trial and awarded him 45,500 euros in compensation. The Presidium of the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the previously adopted court decisions, despite the recommendations of the ECHR to reconsider the case.