Yesterday, on July 22, 2010, judge of the Nizhegorodsky district court Evgeny Pyryev proclaimed the verdict for officers Oleg Koreguin and Anatoly Timofeyev from Nizhny Novgorod accused of abuse of office with ill-treatment and destruction of official documents.   

Both defendants were found guilty. At night on 5 April 2009, being n duty, they had unlawfully detained Alexey Yakimov, taken him to the Nizhegorodsky district police station where they had tortured him for many hours on an improvised rack. Later, the policemen had taken Mr. Yakimov to the Volga bank and tried to drown him.

Photo: convicted police officers Koreguin and Timofeyev.

The investigation authorities opened a criminal case only after the Interregional Committee Against Torture where Alexey Yakimov had applied for help told mass media about those events. Lawyers of the Committee represented the victim’s interests in court during the whole period of the proceedings.

Photo: in the courtroom.

Judge Pyryev found Oleg Koreguin and Anatoly Timofeyev guilty under cl. “a”, “b”, p.3 Art. 286 of the RF Criminal Code (abuse of office, i.e. activity of an official that is clearly based on excess of powers and leads to violation of individual rights and interests, rights and interests of organizations or state, and public interests protected by law, committed with violent treatment and application of special tools) and p.1 Art. 325 of the RF Criminal Code (destruction and damaging of official documents committed for personal reasons).

Both defendants were sentenced to 3 years and one month of imprisonment in a standard security penal colony, besides they cannot work in law enforcement bodies for two years.

Victim Alexey Yakimov and his representatives find this verdict unjustifiably lenient and intend to appeal against it.