The Investigative Committee of the Orenburg region refused to open a torture case for the tenth time. The court declared the last dismissal to be legal

News

02 February 2022

The Promyshlenniy Court of Orenburg declared the dismissal of a claim to open a criminal case with regard to tortures of three residents of the Orenburg region to be legal. Before that they were forced to confess of of murder of an entrepreneur and his seven-year old son which they did not perform.

Mushfig Shykhaliyev and Ramin Shakhmarov from Abdulino town told human rights defenders that in March 2018 they were apprehended one by one by the police officers, who, without explaining the reasons, delivered them to Orenburg to the building of the Department of the Interior of Russia for the Orenburg region. There, according to the applicants, the police officers tortured them, demanding that they confessed of double murder although on that day they were in a different region. Shakhmarov said that he was beaten up and choked with a plastic bag. According to Shykhaliyev, one of the police officers several times pressed his genitals with his foot for a long time. In addition, he was beaten up with an electric shocker. After a request to go to toilet Shykhaliyev was beaten on the head and the police officers told him he would be taken to toilet only to be dipped with his head in the toilet bowl.

The apprehended did not sign the confessions, however, despite this, three days later they were sent to the Pre-Trial Investigative Facility on suspicion of murder. There, in the end, Shykhaliyev provided full confession, scared of rape threats by the officers of the investigative facility. Soon the men were released from the Pre-Trial Investigative Facility because the investigative authorities established that they were indeed not in town at the time of murder.  

Later on, Mushfig Guliyev applied to the Committee Against Torture. He told human rights defenders that he was forced to bear false witness against Shykhaliyev and Shakhmarov. According to Guliyev, his head was hit with fists and a book, he was beaten with an electric shocker and the «swallow» torture was applied against him. When the police officers started to threaten to do harm to his relatives, Guliyev agreed to sign the documents they required. The man was sent to the Pre-Trial Investigation Facility on suspicion of murder.

Two months after Guliyev’s alibi was confirmed, however, he was not released but transferred to the special agency for temporary detention of foreign citizens, because while he was in custody, the period when he was authorized for temporary stay on the territory of Russia, expired. Guliyev spent nine months in the institution, until criminal prosecution against him was not stopped and Mushfig was deported to Azerbaidjan.

Lawyers of Committee applied to the Investigative Committee with a torture complaint. The investigators opened a criminal case based on the fact of abuse of office, but three days later the ruling was dismissed by the Prosecutor’s Office. Subsequently, the lawyers received 10 dismissals of claims to open a criminal case. Last ruling was appealed against at court.

In addition, the lawyers helped the applicants to receive a compensation for ungrounded criminal prosecution. Shakhmarov received 100 thousand rubles, Shykhaliyev – 300 thousand rubles, and Guliyev – 350 thousand rubles.

— The investigative authorities collected sufficient grounds for initiating cases on abuse of office, exceeding official authority, forging the evidence and the results of field investigation activities as well forcing to provide evidence, — explains lawyer Albina Mudarisova. — We certainly disagree with the ruling of the court which refused to declare the dismissal of the claim to open a criminal case to be illegal, and we certainly disagree and intend to challenge against this ruling on appeal.

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