Today the Supreme Court of Bashkortostan has tried the cassation appeals filed by policemen convicted in March this year by the Blagoveschensk District Court for abuse of office committed during the raid that was conducted by Special Police Forces in December 2004 in the city of Blagoveschensk in Bashkiria and in the Blagoveschensk district, as well as their lawyers’ cassation appeals and the cassation motion of the Bashkirian Prosecutor.  The court has dismissed the appeals and upheld the verdict.  

     You may remember that on 5 March 2010 former head of the Blagoveschensk District Department of Internal Affairs Ildar Ramazanov was found guilty and sentenced to 5.5 years conditionally; deputy head of the 1st SPF company under the Bashkirian Ministry of the Interior Oleg Sokolov was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years and 6 months conditionally; deputy head of the City Public Security Police Department Oleg Mirzin was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment conditionally. The convicts disagreed with the verdict and lodged cassation appeals.

      The Bashkirian Prosecutor’s Office also disagreed with the verdict finding the suspended sentence too lenient. In his cassation motion the Bashkirian prosecutor asked the court to cancel the verdict and submit the case for a new trial.  

      The Interregional Committee Against Torture investigated into the Blagoveschensk events, it still represents the victims of police abuse in court.   

     At present the Committee lawyers are preparing claims against the RF Finance Ministry for compensation of moral damage incurred by the crimes committed by the police. Some claims have already been sustained thanks to the efforts of the Bashkirian representation of the Committee Against Torture. We would like to remind you that there are 341 victims under this case.