The Bashkirian Ministry of the Interior “does not instruct its workers to inflict injuries to citizens”, and therefore it is not going to take the responsibility for police abuse.
On 11 November 2010 specialists of the Bashkirian representation of the Committee Against Torture learnt that Rif Galimov from the Tuymazinsky district of the republic, abused by two local policemen who had beaten a group of people in August 2005, had received 20 000 rubles from the state awarded to him as compensation of damage.
On 10 November 2010 the Leninsky district court of Ufa started adjudicating on new suits claiming compensation of moral damage filed by the Tangayevs, father and son, and Ramil Agliullin beaten by the same police officers 5 years ago.
You may remember that on 19 August 2005 Rif Galimov, his underage son Albert, his son’s underage friend Ruslan Tangayev, Ramil Agliullin гand several other men working on a small Bashkirian farm were beaten by operational investigators Gabdrakhmanov and Farrakhov.
The policemen came to the farm in to contribute to the settlement of a dispute between two business entities and steal the cattle which one of the local officials wanted to seize.
Thanks to the interference of the Interregional Committee Against Torture where the victims applied for help, the case reached the court, and on 7 February 2008 the Tuymazy district court found Gabdrakhmanov and Farrakhov guilty under p.1, Article 285 (abuse of office leading to a substantial violation of citizens’ rights and legal interests), cl. “a”, p. 3 Article 286 of the RF Criminal Code (abuse of office with violent treatment).
During yesterday’s hearing the representative of the Bashkirian Ministry of the Interior did not admit the victims’ claims saying that the Ministry of the Interior had not given Gabdrakhmanov and Farrakhov instructions to inflict injuries to the victims. Thus, in the opinion of the Ministry of the Interior, the policemen did not act in their official capacity, and therefore, the Ministry was not responsible for them. The Ministry of the Interior representative suggested that the compensation should be paid by the police officers, ad not by the state and Ministry.