Welcome to Chernokozovo Journalists wait outsite the notorious detention center in Chernokozovo as Russian authorities have decided to open up to the press the "filtration camp" for suspected Chechen rebel fighters. Several former inmates, including journalist Andrei Babitsky, said prison wardens regularly beat and torture suspects.
The jail is located on the territory of a former prison for common criminals. All the buildings were greatly damaged in the latest military campaign in Chechnya. The camp now holds about 90 inmates, all charged with belonging to unlawful military units.
A convict dressed in a white gown hands over plates with hot soup to inmates in cell no. 15. On the day the jail was visited by journalists the menu included cabbage soup with lamb.
Inmates walk in a special enclosure once a day. None of them complained to visiting journalists about beatings or torture.