Tomorrow, on the 30^th of October, the Supreme Court of Bashkiria will try cassation appeals of six victims against the verdict on the criminal case where the accused were former district police officers of Tuymazinskiy district police department A.G.Gabdrakhmanov and F.F. Farrakhov, as well as former Director General of “Tuymazinskiy” OJSC A.T.Zakirov.

We would like to remind you that the policemen were accused of helping Zakirov to seize 165 heads of cattle owned by “Nikitinka” agricultural enterprise on the 19^th of August 2005, though they knew he was doing that illegally. They also applied violence towards two underage civilians who were trying to protect the property of “Nikitinka”. Besides, the prosecution claimed that those policemen had illegally conducted an administrative detention of four “Nikitinka” employees. The prosecution insisted that later Gabdrakhmanov and Farrakhov falsified administrative offence materials on the basis of which innocent people were charged with an administrative offence.

Ruslan Tangaev was one of the minor victims, his parents turned for help to the local department of the Committee against Torture. Committee experts conducted a public investigation of the events and managed to instigate proceedings against the police officers, the Committee against Torture also rendered legal and medical assistance to the victim and his relatives.

The Prosecutor’s office charged the policemen with excess of powers with application of violence (article 286 of the RF CC), power abuse (article 285 of the RF CC) and forgery by an official (article 292 of the RF CC). Zakirov was charged with forcible assertion of private right (article 330 of the RF CC). The trial lasted almost a year and a half.

On the 2^nd of August 2007 the policemen were freed from all charges by the verdict of Tuymazinskiy regional court judge R.A.Galliulina.

The Committee against Torture experts prepared cassation appeals against the court ruling because human rights defenders think that during the preliminary investigation and court hearing the police officers’ guilt was established, and the Tuymazinskiy regional court verdict is illegal and unjustified, and thus, should be cancelled.

Vladislav Sadykov, Head of the Committee against Torture in Bashkiria, stated that his staff will continue to assert legal interests of the Tangaevs and other victims in court.