In Adygea, journalists' attempts to clarify inquiry details of road accident involving high-ranking official are fruitless

After in November 2008 journalists and public figures of Adygea sent a letter to President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev about the investigatory of the road accident involving the head of the Republic's "Rospotrebnadzor", on April 26 this year an answer came from the Chief Investigatory Department for the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) saying that the inquiry is within the competence of the Prosecutor's Office of Adygea. The Office, however, had stated earlier that journalists cannot interfere into the inquiry since they had nothing to do with the case.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the road accident involving Aslan Agirov, head of the "Rospotrebnadzor" for the Republic of Adygea occurred on November 4, 2008, 45 kilometres off the city of Maikop in the daytime. The Toyota Camry driven by Aslan Agirov collided - right on the separating strip - with a VAZ-2107 car driven by Askhad Bersirov. As a result, four persons were lost - the Bersirov family members, including a one-year-old child.

Aslan Shazo, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Molodyozh Adygei" (Youth of Adygea), said that he was surprised, when the answer to their letter came from the NCFD body, while Adygea is a member of another District - the Southern Federal District (SFD).

The letter to Russian President about the inquiry into the road accident involving the head of the local "Rospotrebnadzor" Aslan Agirov was sent back in February. The letter ran that the inquiry was protracted and gave no feasible results.

In their letter to the president, journalists and other signatories also asked: why was the inquiry transferred, given the large number of casualties, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), not to the Investigatory Committee under the Russian Prosecutor's Office? Why had the inspectors failed to establish the presence or absence of alcohol in Agirov's blood? Why had additional damages been caused to the cars-participants of the accident, and why were traces of the accident washed away from the road, which is confirmed by eyewitnesses? Why, as evidenced by telephone tapping, had the investigator of the case reported to Agirov about his actions? Why for more than 2 years of the inquiry has Aslan Agirov been figuring in the case only as a witness?

Earlier, on March 1, 2011, as stated by employees of the above edition, they already received an answer to their appeal to President Medvedev from the Prosecutor's Office of Adygea. In particular it said that "the editor-in-chief of 'Molodyozh Adygei' is not a party in the criminal proceedings (of the case on the road accident involving the head of 'Rospotrebnazor' for the Republic of Adygea Aslan Agirov) and is not among the persons, whose interests are affected by actions, inaction or other decisions of the investigator of this particular case."

The administration of the President of the Russian Federation did not confirm, but did not also refute, to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent the intention of the head of Russia to visit Adygea, saying that they had no information at that time.

On May 20, 2010, the Maikop City Court refused to satisfy Aslan Agirov's lawsuit against the newspaper "Molodyozh Adygei". The lawsuit was on defence of the "Rospotrebnadzor" boss' honour and dignity. On June 22, the Supreme Court of Adygea overturned the decision.

Aslan Agirov saw an insult to the question asked by the editor-in-chief of "Molodyozh Adygei" at a press conference of the Investigatory Committee at the local Prosecutor's Office. The question implied that the cars that were involved in the accident were further deformed by someone so that experts could make conclusion favourable for the head of "Rospotrebnadzor".

Then Agirov moved a number of claims to the newspaper, namely: to recognize as illegal the activities to disseminate information defaming his honour and dignity; to place a refutation of the information published under the heading "Corruption" by the newspaper in February 2010; and to compensate his moral sufferings in the amount of 200,000 roubles.