The Investigative Department for the Central District of Sochi resumed the check based on the application submitted by Irina Ganshina from Sochi, whose son Semyon Ganshin died under unestablished circumstances after possible apprehension by the local police.  

According to Irina’s words, in July of last year Semyon went out of his home and did not come back. Three days after her son’s disappearance the woman applied to the Police Department of the Central District where she was told that Semyon was apprehended and the court hearing was due the next day. The police officers did not let Irina see her son, but accepted some food for him. Where he was really at the police department, remains unknown. 

A few days later, Semyon did not return, and Ganshina went to the police again, to learn when he would be released. This time she was told that Semyon was not apprehended and three days ago he was found dead not far from his home.  

Irina was not allowed to look at her son’s body, having referred to the fact that the corpse decomposed and smelled bad. According to the police officers, the personality of the deceased was established based on fingerprints.  The woman told the lawyers with the Committee Against Torture that she was not sure that she buried Semyon, and not some other person.

The investigative authorities dismissed the claim to open a criminal case based on the death of Ganshin due to “absence of the criminal event”, since the expert did not establish the cause of death due to severe decomposition of the corpse. The Prosecutor’s Office of the Central District declared this dismissal to be legal.   

— Irina and I had a personal appointment with Chief Investigator of Sochi, Mr Kosenkov, and submitted an application against the dismissal of a claim to open a criminal case, since the previous check was incomplete – the investigator did not even check the information that Semyon was at the police department. In addition, it is still not clear, when Irina was not allowed to identify the body, — explained lawyer with the Committee Against Torture Roman Veretennikov. — After that, we received Kosenkov’s letter saying that the check is resumed. Apparently, our arguments turned out to be convincing.