The health minister in the rebel Chechen administration,...

The health minister in the rebel Chechen administration, Umar Khanbiyev, who was himself taken prisoner by the Russian forces in Chechnya and tortured, has drawn up a list of the most commonly-used methods of torture employed by the federal forces both inside Chechnya and in camps in Russia itself. He said the evidence of similar methods being employed in different camps showed this was a deliberate policy, most likely devised by the Russian special services. He spoke of Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal hatred of Chechnya and Chechens and said he had issued a secret instruction "to destroy 80 per cent of prisoners and leave the remainder disabled" so Chechens could "see what they have to fear". The methods employed involve both physical and mental torture, and mass executions without trial.