Six State Duma MPs appeal to ICRF and MIA on case of builder Demerchyan in Sochi

Dmitry Gudkov, an MP from the Russian State Duma, has sent requests to the Chairman of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) asking to take measures on the statement of the builder Mardiros Demerchyan about the beating and torture to which he was subjected by the police in Sochi. The requests were signed by six State Duma MPs.

The GUVD (Chief Interior Department) of the Krasnodar Territory made a check and revealed no illegal actions of the police. Currently, a check of the applications on Demerchyan's beating is conducted by investigators. The decision on opening a criminal case will be made within a month, Ivan Sengerov, the spokesman of the Investigating Department of the ICRF for the KrasnodarTerritory told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on June 19. In their turn, the Sochi police have lodged an application to the ICRF asking to bring Demerchyan to responsibility for libel.

Dmitry Gudkov wrote his Deputy's request on July 2, and on July 3 posted its text on his blog in the "LiveJournal".

So far, there were no comments made by the officials of the ICRF and MIA, and of the Sochi investigators on the above Deputy's request.

"I do everything only in accordance with the law," Artyom Semenets, an investigator of the Investigating Division for the Adler District of Sochi of the above department for the Krasnodar Territory of the ICRF, who is in charge of investigating the torture complaints, told earlier the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.