On 21 August 2015 the Supreme Court of the Chechen Republic completed examining the case on a suit to defend one’s honor, dignity and business reputation of the Ministry of Interior of Chechnya to the Committee Against Torture and Murad Amriyev from Chechnya, who complained of torture by the police officers. 

The court decided to affirm the previously  passed ruling of the Leninsky District Court of Grozny, and dismiss the appellate complaints of the defendants. The decision was taken by the appellate instance with a dissenting opinion of one of the judges. Since only the resolutive part of decision was announced, the dissenting opinion can be familiarized with after the court develops a motivated decision. 

The court decision itself raises some serious bewilderment. In the course of the case examination the court was provided with evidence stating that the Committee Against Torture is at the stage of dissolution, the website pytkam.net belongs to a different person, which means there is no defendant as such, and no possibility to disprove anything on the website. 

In addition, the court hearing established that Amriyev did not have anything to do with the website Grani.ru, this website was not involved in the proceedings, moreover, it is blocked on the territory of Russia by the decision of the General Prosecutor’s Office. It remained unclear in what way Amriyev, who never placed any materials on the Committee’s website, or on the website Grani.ru, had to disprove the data which was outlined there.

According to the head of the Joint Mobile Group, working under the guidance of the Committee for Prevention of Torture, Dmitry Kazakov, after the motivated decision is received it will be definitely appealed against.