Strasbourg, 20/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The president of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Ernst Walch, Foreign Minister for Liechtenstein, yesterday denounced the bad will on the part of Russia to shed light on the cases of torture of prisoners in Chechnya. His intervention comes after the public declaration by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) on 10 July, which was highly critical of the attitude adopted by the Russian authorities (see EUROPE of 14 July, page 5). Mr Walch explained that the mandate of the CPT, whose powers were questioned by the Russian authorities, is applied to all fields concerning the protection of prisoners against all forms of ill treatment. Thus, the opening of inquiries and criminal proceedings against officials who committed such acts come within its field of competence. In addition, the powers of the CPT cover treatment received in any place where people are deprived of their freedom by public authorities, including temporary detention (as in the case of the detention centre in Chernokosovo). President Walch invites the Russian authorities to cooperate fully with the CPT.