On October 1, 2010 the Duvansky district court of Bashkiria will hear the criminal case against former district police officer of the Duvansky district Department of Internal Affairs police captain Zakirov and former officer of the Patrol and Point-Duty Service of the Duvansky district Department of Internal Affairs police sergeant Ufimtsev charged under cl.”a”, p.3 article 286 of the RF Criminal Code  (abuse of office with violent treatment) and p.1 art. 309 of the RF CC (bribing a witness to make him/her give a false testimony).

   Earlier the Bashkirian representation of the Interregional Committee Against Torture received an application from Raikhana Abkarova who claimed that on June 20, 2009 she had been beaten by two policemen during the Sabantuy fest in the village of Ulkundy, Duvansky district of Bashkiria. Having checked the allegations, lawyers of the CAT concluded that the police had breached Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment).

   On July 23, 2009 the Duvansky Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigation Administration of the Investigation Committee under the RF Prosecutor’s Office for Bashkiria instigated criminal proceedings.  During the investigation investigators very meticulously established all the circumstances of the crime. Besides, they determined that sergeant Ufimtsev had paid one of the witnesses, and, as a result, the witness had lied that he had seen an unknown civilian, not the police, beat the applicant. Therefore, Ufimtsev is accused not only of abuse of office, but also of bribing a witness. The officers quit their jobs before the trial started.

The CAT has provided a lawyer to Ms. Akbarova to represent her interests in court.

The Bashkirian representation of the Interregional Committee Against Torture intends to ensure punishment of the perpetrators.