Head of the Procedural Control of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the RF for the Nizhny Novgorod region Aleksey Peresypin sent back for additional investigation the criminal case based on the fact of Sergey’s Lyapin torture in the police department of the Volodarsky region in 2008. Previously the investigation of this case was illegally suspended. Human rights defenders with the Committee for the Prevention of Torture think that investigator Igor Razumkov, who is investigating this case, has all the grounds to produce charges against the two suspects, however, he has been failing to so do till the present time for some reasons. With regard to this, human rights defenders intend to apply to Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Aleksandr Bastrykin; they are also planning to submit one more complaint to the European Court of Human Rights.
(Sergey Lyapin)
We remind that this criminal case was opened in March, 2016 by investigator of the Investigative Department for Dzerzhinsk of the Investigative Committee for the Russian Federation for the Nizhny Novgorod region Roman Shamshutdinov based on the fact of Sergey Lyapin’s tortures. Human rights defenders on behalf of Mr. Lyapin are convinced that initiating the case became possible due to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights which acknowledged the fact of Sergey’s tortures in 2014 and established that the investigative authorities did not conduct adequate investigation at the national level, so on 20 January 2016 the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation made a ruling to resume the proceedings of Lyapin’s case.
In September of last year two participants of the events that took place eight years ago were declared suspects in the criminal case, at the same time one of them is an acting police officer, and the other has already retired from law-enforcement bodies. In the course of face-to-face confrontation Lyapin identified them as his torturers.
Despite this, investigator Igor Razumkov, investigating this case, have already twice issued rulings to suspend the preliminary investigation, basing on item 1 part 1 Article 208 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the RF – failure to identify the person to be identified as a defendant.
Both these rulings were declared illegal and the case was sent back for additional investigation: latest ruling, quashing the decision to suspend the criminal case was issued by Head of the Department of the Procedural Control of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the RF for the Nizhny Novgorod region Aleksey Peresypin. This week human rights defenders received the copy of this ruling.
“During the period of the investigation all the possible activities necessary for bringing charges against the two suspects were performed. Sergey Lyapin identified his torturers during face-to-face confrontation. Medical examinations confirmed that Lyapin injuries could be developed under the circumstances which he describes, and the credibility of his testimony was conformed by the results of psychophysiological examination using the polygraph, but it does not seem to be enough for investigator Razumkov for some reason, – lawyer with the Committee for the Prevention of Torture Albert Kuzntsov, representing the interests of Sergey Lyapin, wonders. – What is it: unprofessionalism or deliberate prolonging the period of investigation aiming at letting the culprits escape the responsibility due to the expiry of the period of limitation?”
With regard to this Kuznetsov will shortly apply to Chairman of the Investigative Committee Aleksandr Bastrykin. Lawyers with the Committee for the Prevention of Torture will also prepare the second complaint to the European Court of Human Rights – against the inefficient investigation.