The head of the Federal Penitentiary Service, speaks about the handcuffing of Vasily Aleksanyan.

“No infringement of the law is being permitted as far as the accused V. Aleksanyan is concerned,” declared Yury Kalinin, head of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FPS), on Tuesday in an interview with the Interfax agency.

Referring to the lack of satisfaction expressed by the sick man’s lawyers about the behaviour of those guarding him and, in particular, the handcuffing of Aleksanyan to his bed, the FPS chief added:

“There’s nothing unusual about that. To avoid an attempt to escape similar measures are put in place in case the guard has to leave his post for one reason or another.”

(Interfax, 19 February 2008)

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Even during medical treatment, the chains stay on

In turn, Vasily Aleksanyan’s lawyers announced that the chains restraining Vasily Aleksanyan were not even removed when he was receiving medical treatment:

“As he told me himself,” says his lawyer Gevorg Dangyan, “he is handcuffed to the bed. I haven’t seen this or the chain — they are removed before we visit. All the medical treatment he receives is administered while he remains chained. The only time these restraints are removed are when he must go to the toilet.”

(Kommersant, 19 February 2008)