Yesterday the Leninsky district court of Ufa (Republic of Bashkiria) delivered two more judgments on compensation of moral damage inflicted by the republican police to Denis Lugovoy and Dmitry Korotkov, residents of the Blagoveschensk district of Bashkiria.  

   Denis Lugovoy was awarded 60 thousand rubles to be paid by the RF Treasury, Dmitry Korotkov was awarded 50 thousand rubles.

   Interests of the victims of mistreatment committed by the Bashkirian police during a special operation in December 2004 are represented by lawyers of the Interregional Committee Against Torture. 

   These individuals were abused by officers of the Blagoveschensk District Department of Internal Affairs and Bashkirian Special Police Forces in December 2004. V. A. Khamatdinov, acting head of the police station in the village of Udelno-Duvaney, and special police forces officers unlawfully entered Denis Lugovoy’s home, beat him and his brother and took them to the Blagoveschensk District Department of Internal Affairs. As for Dmitry Korotkov, he was abused by another officer of the Blagoveschensk District Department of Internal Affairs – A.N. Guilvanov- who beat the victims, including Korotkov, using special tools – a rubber club.

   Attention should be paid to the position of the Bashkirian Ministry of the Interior expressed during the hearing. The Ministry claimed that the state was not obligated to provide compensation of moral damage, since there had been no order authorizing abuse of office by the policemen.

   During the special operation sanctioned by the former heads of the Bashkirian Ministry of the Interior hundreds of people of the small Bashkirian town were abused.   More than 300 people were officially acknowledged victims.