Yesterday the court sustained the appeal filed by the Committee against Torture in the interests of Valery Dontsov (village of Opalikha, Nizhny Novgorod region) , see photo, against the unlawful decision of the investigation authorities refusing to investigate Mr. Dontsov’s application claiming police abuse.

Valery Dontsov applied to the Kstovo city Investigation Department stating that he had been beaten by officers of the Kstovo Directorate of the Interior trying to force a confession out of him.

Already on 1 December 2008 investigator Klimova from the Kstovo Investigation Department checked the application and refused to open criminal proceedings upon the results of the check. The previous refusal issued by Ms. Klimova in May 2008 had been cancelled by the head of the Procedural Control Department of the Investigation Administration of the Investigation Committee under the RF Prosecutor’s Office for Nizhny Novgorod region, Mr. Pankin. The latter mentioned that the investigator’s decision was unlawful and ill-founded because the check was incomplete. Mr. Pankin emphasized that an additional check was required and should include certain procedural actions. However, investigator Klimova again issued a decision not to start a criminal case ignoring the majority of Mr. Pankin’s recommendations.

On 28 September 2009 the Committee against Torture lodged an appeal with the Kstovo city court. The court sustained the appeal saying that the investigator had failed to comply with the instructions of higher-standing authorities in breach of the Criminal Procedure Code which witnessed that the check was incomplete. The court concluded that such a check could lead to incorrect conclusions at the pre-trial stage, and therefore, the decision not to start a criminal case was not legal.

It should be mentioned separately that Mr. Turanov from the Kstovo Prosecutor’s Office who took part in the hearing said that he thought the appeal to be justified and asked the court to find investigator Klimova’s decision unlawful.