On 30 June 2010 the Interregional Committee Against Torture received a report prepared upon the results of the service check conducted by the Internal Security Directorate of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Directorate of the Interior under the application of Mikhail Skobelev, director of the Sormovo cemetery, claiming police abuse.  

Mikhail Skobelev applied to INGO “Committee Against Torture” in November 2009 claiming that on Police Day he had been beaten by intoxicated officers of the Sormovsky District Economic Crimes Department.

According to the report of the Internal Security Directorate, deputy head of the Sormovsky police department Kuznetsov and head of the Sormovsky District Economic Crimes Department Erofeyev were held disciplinary liable.  The Internal Security Directorate found out that those officials had decided to conduct a service check in respect of their subordinates themselves. It was done to conceal the violation committed by the officers who, in their turn, tried to come to terms with Skobelev by offering him money and thus escape a criminal charge.

According to the ISD report submitted to the ICAT, there are grounds to believe that officers of the Economic Crimes Department could be involved in beating Mr. Skobelev. Materials of the ISD check have been sent to the Investigation Committee, however, for more than half a year representatives of the Sormovsky District Investigation Department under the RF Prosecutor’s Office have been refusing to open a criminal case.

At present the investigation authorities are conducting a rather stagnant additional check under Mikhail Skobelev’s application.