"Social, Psychological and Medical Aspects of Cruelty"

for all post-totalitarian countries of the East Europe, NIS countries (in Russian)

This project is financed by the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights to help promote and defend human rights and fundamental freedoms, to support the processes of democratization as well as measures for conflict-prevention and resolution.

Main Objectives

  1. to widen the opportunity of exchange of knowledge and experience among the specialists working in fields concerning torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (rehabilitation, studies, prevention, etc.),
  2. to use an integrated approach to the solving of the above problems,
  3. to increase the awareness of the importance of these issues in general public as well as among the representatives of particular specialties.

The journal is intended for politicians, officials, police, penitentiary staff, lawyers, physicians, sociologists, psychologists, pedagogues, mass media, NGOs and public.

The journal is distributed free of charge.

The IRC kindly invites cooperation from everybody who works in the area of preventing torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

We would appreciate all comments, questions, suggestions on the journal "Social, Psychological and Medical Aspects of Cruelty" project.

Background

At present, all countries of the former USSR (with the exception of the three Baltic republics) are characterized by absence of reforms in the sphere of law and law-protection bodies according to the recommendations of international and European standards.

This concerns such formally European-oriented countries as Ukraine and Moldova as well as those with obviously dictatorial regimes of Bielorussia and Turkmenistan. At the same time an evident possibility of gradual positive influence on all the post-soviet countries exists. Ultimate utilization of the outside (political) influence is non-sufficient. There is a need of help in forming new legislative initiatives and single islands of civil society aiming for judicial reform and humanization of legal bodies in post-soviet countries.

Exactly in this aim, the publication of a specialized journal is useful. The journal is directed towards formation of the corresponding way of thinking in post-soviet countries in the following groups of people: law-makers, officials of the presidential administration and government, police officers, penitentiary officers, militaries, medical staff (especially psychiatric staff); also for psychologists, sociologists, lawyers, philosophers and educational specialists working professionally in these countries.

Due to the difficult economical situation in post-totalitarian countries, the specialized publishing is very difficult. Professionals have a poor opportunity to obtain fresh, professionally needed information from books and journals. Weak development of the Internet in these countries does not allow professionals to get information from this new source. Simultaneously, one should remember that, due to economical and other factors, torture and cruel treatment of people has increased in these countries.

The review compensates a lack of information in this field, at the same time activating resistance to this dangerous phenomenon.