Today, on 2 February 2016, the Leninsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod has passed a ruling with regard to former officer of the Patrol-Guard Service of the Ministry of Interior for Nizhny Novgorod. He was declared guilty of crime under item «а» Part 3 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation («Abuse of office with the use of violence») and sentenced to four years of conditional sentence. The trial did not involve examining the evidence since the defendant insisted on special procedure.
(Roman Cheremkin in the Leninsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod)
As we have previously reported, on 16 July 2015 Sergey Sysouyev applied to INGO «The Committee Against Torture» for legal assistance. Sergey told the human rights defenders that on 14 July of this year at about 3 a.m. he was detained by the police officers in the apartment of his girlfriend – her mother did not like the night visit of the young man. According to Sergey, the battery started in the police car and continued in the police department.
After some time Sergey complained to the duty officer that he felt unwell and asked to call for the doctors to provide medical assistance to him. Ambulance team which arrived at the police department urgently delivered Sergey to the City Hospital No.39. There he was diagnosed with bruises of the head’s soft tissues, cerebral concussion, partial rupture of forearm muscle, as well as hypodermic hematomas on the body. As a result of the sustained injuries Sysouyev had to spend a week in hospital.
(Photo: Sergey Sysouyev)
In the course of the public investigation the human rights defenders received copies of Sysouyev’s medical documents, questioned the witnesses who confirmed that the victim had no bodily injuries before he was detained. At the initiative of the lawyers of the Committee Against Torture Sergey was subjected to forensic medical examination, in the course of which a contused wound of the head, numerous wounds on arms, feet and body were registered. Upon the human rights defenders motion these documents were attached to the materials of the check.
On 27 August of last year a criminal case was opened with regards to this fact against officer of the Patrol-Guard Service named Roman Cheremkin. The latter agreed to cooperate with the investigation, having pleaded guilty to the crime.
According to lawyer of the Committee for Prevention of Torture Evgeny Chilikov, who represented the interests of Sergey Sysouyev in court, the video surveillance camera record, timely seized by the investigator, became key evidence in this case. It is clearly seen in the record how Cheremkin hit the detained.
It has to be noted that a workmate of the fired police officer, the Deputy Head of the Patrol-Guard Service Regiment and the squad commander were subjected to disciplinary action. The superiors of the Department of the Interior of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod region obliged all the police officers of the Patrol-Guard Service to pass the unscheduled test on the regulations of the Federal law «On police» and the case of Sergey Sysouyev was analyzed with every Patrol Guard Service team during the briefing.
In the course of today’s hearing defendant Roman Cheremkin submitted a motion to the court concerning the special procedure of the trial (without examining the evidence) and offered his apologies to Sergey Sysouyev. The State Prosecutor requested a sentence in the form of four years prison term. The victim, in his turn, asked for a mild punishment to his injurer. As a result, judge Nikolay Berezin declared former of the Patrol-Guard Service of the Ministry of Interior for Nizhny Novgorod Roman Cheremkin guilty in the offence charged and sentenced him to four years of conditional sentence.
After the sentence has taken effect lawyers of the Committee for Prevention of Torture will apply to court with a suit for compensation of moral and material damage to Sergey Sysouyev, incurred by illegal actions of the former police officer.