Lawyers of the Joint Mobile Group of Russian human rights organizations, representing the interests of the widow of Alikhan Ozdoyev, who died after the interrogation in Chechnya, applied to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee Aleksandr Bastrykin, asking to transfer the investigation of the case to the central office.

As it has been reported by «Caucasian Knot», Madina Mutaliyeva reported the death of her husband Alikhan Ozdoyev after his interrogation in Chechnya. In the widow’s opinion her husband was tortured. On 25 May she applied to the Joint Mobile Group of Russian human rights organizations (JMG), working in the Chechen Republic, and asked to conduct a public investigation of Mr.Ozdoyev’s death. On 21 September the Committee for Prevention of Torture reported that JMG lawyers succeeded in declaring the woman the affected party in the case of her husband’s death.

The request on transferring the case of Alikhan Ozdoyev’s death to the central office was submitted to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee Mr. Bastrykin on 30 September, informed JMG lawyer Anton Ryzhov.

«Mr.Ozdoyev’s widow was declared the affected party only after two months, which is a gross breach. We have very little information available on the investigation progress, due to the legal norm of the secrecy of investigation. Since Mrs. Ozdoyeva was declared the affected party, we filed a motion requesting to question over a dozen of witnesses. According to our information, the investigative authorities have already started to question some of them», – Anton Ryzhov told the «Caucasian Knot» correspondent.

The lawyer is not aware if there are any suspects in the case of Alikhan Ozdoyev’s death.

«If there are any suspects, we, as representatives of the affected party, will be able to submit a motion in order to question these people with the help of a polygraph, as well as conduct some other actions», – Ryzhov said.

According to his words, the application to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee was made because the investigation of Ozdoyev’s death is being conducted by the Chief Investigatory Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the North Caucasian Federal District, investigating the criminal case, in the framework of which Mr. Ozdoyev was apprehended. According to the lawyers’ opinion, this is «undermining the principle of investigation independence».

Alikhan Ozdoyev was apprehended and put in the temporary detention facility on 28 April 2015, as it has previously been reported, in relation to the investigation of a criminal case based on item «b» of part 4 of Article 132 of the Russian Criminal Code, initiated in 2011 (sexual battery of a person under 14). On 8 May the Ozdoyev’s family was informed that the man died of heart attack before he was taken to hospital. In relation to his death a criminal case was initiated based on part 4 of Article 111 of the Russian Criminal Code (intended infliction of grave bodily harm resulted in death of the victim).

«On 27 April Alikhan was hospitalized due to the attack of stomach ulcer. On the next day the investigator of the Chief Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the North Caucasian Federal District took him right from the hospital to Grozny. On 30 April, during the court hearing, when a pre-trial restraint was being chosen for Alikhan, he told me that on the day of his apprehension he was tortured with electricity. He was very worried for his sisters, for us and our kids, and asked me not to mentioned this to anyone», – Madina Mutaliyeva told the «Caucasian Knot» correspondent.

In her opinion, her husband was groundlessly picked up as a suspect in the case under Article 132 of the Russian Criminal Code. «When the case was initiated under this article, my husband provided the investigator with references for the three suspects, all of them were our neighbors. He wrote that none of them could commit such a crime. When Alikhan was apprehended, the boy’s mother told him: «It serves you right for providing such references for neighbours», – Madina Mutaliyeva informed.

According to her, the traces on her husband’s body indicate that he was subjected to torture. «His nose was broken, there was blood in his mouth and nose, they did something to his teeth, bruises, cuts were all over his body. There are photographs proving all this», – Madina Mutaliyeva said.

She points out that her husband refused to plead guilty. «My husband told me that they tortured him demanding that he confessed of something that he had never committed. He told them: «I’d rather be dead than do this», – the woman mentioned.

On 8 May Madina Mutaliyeva applied with a written statement to the Investigative Department of Karabulak town in order to conduct an investigation, since there were obvious traces of torture on her husnand’s body. «They got under way to inspect the body, but after some phone call they quickly wound up and left. I still know nothing of the results of the check performed by the investigators from Karabulak», – added the woman.

She wants to see a fair investigation of her husband’s death. «The criminal case based on Alikhan’s death was initiated on 29 July. On the same day I went to Nalchik for interrogation. Nothing has been done ever since. I raise two kids ; a one and a half year old son and a three-year old daughter. The girl asks about her father daily. She says that lost him, goes about looking for him. I want to see a fair investigation of their father’s death», – the woman emphasized.

There is a group of the Chief Investigatory Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the North Caucasian Federal District working on the territory of the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Chechen Republic, informed an officer of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Chechnya.

«They were in charge of the Ozdoyev’s case. It’s just that Ozdoyev was interrogated in our offices. We have nothing to do with this person and we don’t investigate this case», – claimed the representative of the Chechen Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia to the «Caucasian Knot» correspondent.

The Chief Investigatory Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the North Caucasian Federal District refused to comment on the situation with Ozdoyev, claiming that they did not have the public relation specialist available. The editors of the «Caucasian Knot» submitted the official application regarding this situation to the Investigative Committee of Russia.
 
Author: Elena Romanova
Source: Caucasian Knot