Yesterday the Nizhegorodsky district court of Nizhny Novgorod sustained Lilia Mikhailovna Gremina’s claim for compensation of moral damage incurred by unlawful actions of the police. The court awarded the 74-year old Nizhny Novgorod resident 30 thousand rubles to be paid by the Russian Finance Ministry on behalf of the RF Treasury. The claimant had asked for 100 thousand rubles.

Lilia Gremina was represented by specialists of the Interregional Committee Against Torture.

We would like to remind you that on March 24, 2007 the victim tried to take part in the Dissenters’ March organized in Nizhny Novgorod. The rally was unauthorized which Ms. Gremina was not aware of. She was unlawfully detained by the police using violence.

We can say with a high degree of certainty that this sum of compensation of moral damage will be further decreased. Case law of Nizhny Novgorod region shows that the RF Finance Ministry represented by the Federal Treasury Administration for Nizhny Novgorod region appeals against judgments awarding compensations to victims of police abuse in order to “save the budget”.