Today the Leninsky district court of Ufa (the Republic of Bashkiria) has sustained the claim lodged by the Bashkirian representation of the Interregional Committee against Torture against the decision of a special investigator of the Bashkirian Prosecutor’s Office dated 10 August 2009 refusing to open a criminal case upon the fact of unlawful detention and abuse of local citizen Ivan Smirnov by the prosecutorial and police staff.   The court has found the refusal unlawful and ill-founded. For three years specialists of the Committee against Torture where Ivan Smirnov applied for help have appealed against this refusal at various levels, including the Supreme Court of Bashkiria that also supported the human rights defenders and victim Smirnov.

The public investigation carried out by the Committee against Torture has shown that law enforcement agents tortured Ivan Smirnov, Rudik Minibayev and Roman Mindibayev. Thus, the state violated art.3 (prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment), art.5 (right to liberty and personal security) and art.13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.