Tomorrow at 11 a.m. the Krasnodar regional court will try the victims’ cassation appeal against the Lazarevsky court decision awarding compensations.

   On 3 August 2009 the Lazarevsky district court of Sochi conducted the final hearing of the civil suit lodged by victims under the Sochi Special Police Forces case.  The court sustained almost all claims of police abuse victims.

However, the Lazarevsky court awarded much smaller compensations than the victims had claimed, therefore it was decided to appeal to the cassation instance.  

You may remember that earlier lawyer of the Committee against Torture Yuriy Sidorov, supported by the Public Verdict Foundation, sued the state for damages incurred to Nizhneye Makopse citizens by the police raid. In July 2006 during an unauthorized police raid conducted by the Sochi SPF in Nizhneye Makopse, several citizens and vacationers were abused, including minors. More than 30 people were battered by the police for no reason and taken to the Lazarevsky District Department of Internal Affairs.  

In October 2008 the Lazarevsky district court of Sochi found 8 police officers who had taken part in the raid guilty of grave crimes and sentenced them to long-term imprisonment. On 14 January 2009 the verdict entered into force.