The Committee against Torture has appealed against the refusal of the investigation authorities to start criminal proceedings on the allegations of murder in a detoxification centre of Sarov.

   Today specialists of the ICAT filed a claim against the decision of the Prosecutor’s office of closed city Sarov (Nizhny Novgorod region) not to initiate a criminal case upon the fact of Vladimir Bondarenko’s sudden death in a medical detoxification centre on 6 May 2007.

Mr. Bondarenko’s wife applied to the Committee against Torture in spring 2008, having obtained several refusals of the investigation authorities to investigate her husband’s death. 

The public investigation conducted by the ICAT revealed a number of strange facts in connection with medical examinations carried out upon the request of the prosecutor’s office.

In particular, there are discrepancies in the reports of the forensic histological and forensic medical examinations of the body that can be caused either by negligence or intention (the examinations might not be independent).

Whether criminal proceedings are initiated or not depends largely on the examination reports disclosing the reason for Mr. Bondarenko’s death. So far law enforcement bodies are quite reluctant to investigate the case.