"Merekha's Case" is investigated in Stavropol Territory; relatives fear for his life

The investigatory bodies of the Stavropol Territory are conducting inquiry into the fact of a militiaman's victimization of Vyacheslav Merekha, 44, which caused broad public resonance, and promise to present charges soon. Meanwhile, victim's relatives express fear for his life because of Vyacheslav's poor health.

As earlier reported by the "Caucasian Knot", at night on December 15, 2010, Vyacheslav Merekha, a resident of the farm yard named Kalaborka, being in the state of alcoholic intoxication, was detained near his house by militiamen of the Predgorny ROVD (District Interior Division) and taken to the police station. There, according to social moderators of South of Russia, he "was exposed to moral and physical pressure."

According to his relatives, Merekha "was brought, instead of the duty unit, to the police station, where militiamen first drunk alcohol, then began beating the detainee." "When he pretended to have lost consciousness, militiamen, to make sure that he was not dead, began burning his finger and decided among themselves whether to throw his body into the reeds or lake; then, when Merekha got frightened and gave signs of life, they stripped off his pants and underwear and kicked a mop handle into his anus; and they poured their urine on him," his relatives told. "After all those executions Merekha in the car trunk was brought to the on duty militia unit, where he felt bade; an ambulance was called, and he was brought by militiamen to hospital."

Vyacheslav Merekha is 44; at the moment he is unemployed and rears his 10-year-old son. To date he has undergone three major surgeries and in fact became an invalid."

On January 31, in the conference hall of Hotel "Intourist" of the city of Pyatigorsk, Stavropol Territory, a roundtable was held on the topic "Crime without Punishment: Case of Vyacheslav Merekha". The event was held by the inter-regional initiative group of citizens within the public campaign launched by the Community of Social Moderators of Southern Russia. The main idea of the roundtable was to draw attention to the facts of human rights violations by law enforcers of the Predgorny ROVD, Stavropol Territory.

As reported to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Vasily Ptitsyn, one of the main organizers of the event, a teacher at the PR and social communications division of the Kuban State University and a Master of the Community of Social Moderators, the roundtable was attended by about 60 persons: leaders of non-commercial organizations, residents of the Predgorny District, Archpriest Igor Podositnikov, editor-in-chief of the Stavropol-based newspaper "Stavropol Chime", representatives of various public boards, including the public board at the Tikhoretsk ROVD of the Krasnodar Territory, journalists, and also Natalia Spiridonova, Vyacheslav Merekha's cousin, N. A. Myasoedov, militia head of the Predgorny District, D. O. Kuzmenko, deputy head of the Predgorny Inter-District Investigatory Division of the Investigatory Department for the Stavropol Territory of the Russian Investigatory Committee, and I. V. Chernoschokova, assistant of the head of the Predgorny Inter-District Investigatory Division.

"The roundtable was dedicated to defence of human rights of an ordinary, even socially unsafe person," said Mr Ptitsyn. "There are millions of such persons like Vyacheslav Merekha in our country, but they have the same rights as everyone else. Violators of human rights should understand that someone else stands behind these persons; and this 'someone' is the Russian civil society."

The participants of the round table discussed specific problems related to Merekha's case; for example, why a criminal case was initiated only two weeks after the crime, why at the first stage of investigation the case was not supervised by the respective agency and why no charges have been presented so far to anyone. Besides, the meeting touched on the actions of militiamen of the Predgorny District on other cases; the militia efficiency in other municipalities of the Stavropol Territory; and the need for a strong system of public control over law enforcement bodies.

The inter-regional initiative group of citizens also intends to provide material support to Vyacheslav Merekha, who needs money for treatment. Any voluntary donor can transfer money to the personal account of Merekha, Vyacheslav Valerievich: Pyatigorsk OSB No. 30, Correspondent Account 30101.810.6.0000.0000660, Settlement Account 30301.810.9.6000.6006009, BIC 040702660, INN 7707083893 KPP 040702001, Personal Account No. 42307.810.0.6009.1120921.

In the course of the roundtable, Irina Chernoschokova, assistant of the head of the Predgorny Inter-District Investigatory Division, told the audience that the case is under personal control of Lieutenant-General of Justice Sergey Dubrovin, head of the Investigatory Department for the Stavropol Territory of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation Justice, and the charges on the case will be presented in the near future.

The above Department also confirmed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that Vyacheslav Merekha's case is under special control of the top managers of the Department.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by the victim's cousin Natalia Spiridonova that currently Vyacheslav Merekha was discharged from hospital and is at home. And although, according to her story, doctors managed to remove the most severe pains, his health condition causes concern of his family and friends. "He eats almost nothing," said Natalia, "feels very bad and is very weak."

According to her story, the main thing that the relatives want is "an open and honest dialogue between the public and law enforcement bodies."