The assistant on duty of the Head of Colony No. 17 (Prudy settlement, Krasnobakovsky district, Nizhny Novgorod region) Internal Services Major Smirnov is subjected to disciplinary action – a severe reprimand. The reason for imposing disciplinary actions was the fact that the Federal Penitentiary Service officer did not register the application of the lawyer of convict Andrey Bogorosh (and did not report about it to the Head of the correctional facility). This application reported that Bogorosh had bodily injuries and was in need of medical aid and injuries registering, and that it was necessary to transfer information to the Internal Security Department of Federal Penitentiary Service Directorate and to the Investigative Committee. Human rights activists believe that the actions of Major Smirnov involve elements of crime and not just a violation of discipline.
As we have previously reported, in September 2015 Tatyana Bogorosh applied to human rights defenders for legal assistance and informed them that her husband, who was serving the prison term at Penal Colony No. 17, was beaten up by a Penal Colony officer. As the applicant explained, this was not the first time it happened to her husband, and she was worried for his health and life.
Two days later after the assumed incidents lawyer Petr Zaikin, working with the Committee for Prevention of Torture, went to the colony to see Andrey Bogorosh. In the course of their conversation Zaikin revealed that the convict had a big hematoma around his left eye and two hematomas on his hip. Bogorosh also complained of the headache and feeling sick. Zaikin reported this in his application to the Head of the Colony: the lawyer asked to send Andrey Bogorosh for medical examination to have his injuries registered and inform the Internal Security Department of Federal Penitentiary Service Directorate in Nizhny Novgorod region on what happened to him, as well as to send similar information to the Investigating Committee.
This application was handed over to Smirnov, the assistant on duty of the Head of the Colony. For some unknown reasons Mr. Smirnov did not register the application of lawyer Zaikin and did not report about it to the Head of the Colony. As it follows from letter by Vadim Sudakov, temporary acting as the Head of Penal Colony No. 17, Major Smirnov was subjected to disciplinary responsibility for his inaction – a severe reprimand.
«The fact of bringing the assistant of the Head of the colony to disciplinary action proves one important thing – that the administration of Penal Colony No. 17 acknowledged a significant violation of Andrey Bogorosh’s rights, since the unregistered application of the lawyer resulted in a number of violations of the convict’s rights. If this application had initiated proceedings on time, the Head would have been obliged to consider it and give relevant instructions on informing Internal Security Department of Federal Penitentiary Service Directorate in Nizhny Novgorod region about the fact of using violence, as well as about sending Andrey Bogorosh for medical examination and providing necessary medical aid for him, – believes Sergey Shounin, a legal expert from the Committee for Prevention of Torture. – In our opinion, a revealed violation can be the evidence of the actions performed by Major Smirnov that are subject to the criminal law of the Russian Federation. We are planning to take the decision on sending the corresponding application to the Investigating Committee after we study the results of the inspection performed by Internal Security Department of Federal Penitentiary Service Directorate».
As for the inspection of the crime report submitted by the human rights activists to Semenovsky Interdistrict Investigation Department of Criminal Investigation Division of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in Nizhny Novgorod on behalf of Andrey Bogorosh, investigator Vasily Buduchin has already twice issued refusals to open a criminal case that was appealed against by human rights activists in the Prosecutor’s office and declared illegal. The last illegal refusal issued by investigator Buduchin was quashed by the Prosecutor’s Office based on the complaint of human rights activists dated 16 March of this year.
With this regard lawyers of the Committee for Prevention of Torture are planning to address the head of the regional Criminal Investigation Division of the Investigative Committee with the request to subject investigator Buduchin to disciplinary action.