Lawyers: recommendation of Russian SC to check torture complaints not to affect Demerchyan's case

On November 29, 2016, the Russia's Supreme Court (SC) issued a ruling of its Plenum "On Court Verdict", explaining to the judges the main points of the verdict on a criminal case and the order of exemption from criminal liability.

The SC has stated that courts should be more attentive to defendants' applications about torture and to their statements that they have given their confessions under law enforcers' pressure. Each of such applications must be checked, the SC recommends.

The above ruling will not affect the case of Mardiros Demerchyan, said Alexander Boichenko, the head of the Sochi branch of the Moscow Bar, who is dealing with the case since 2013.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Mardiros Demerchyan, who worked at the construction of Olympic facilities, complained that after his detention on June 12, 2013, on suspicion of stealing building materials, he had been subjected to torture. On September 29, it became known that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) communicated the complaint filed by Mardiros Demerchyan.

"The point is that the above SC's ruling fails to set up a mechanism for taking efficient action by the court in checking the defendant's arguments that his/her confessions were knocked out under torture," said Mr Boichenko.

"Not a single law enforcer will ever say that he has knocked out confessions by means of torture. We can see how Demerchyan's case got transferred after he stated his torture. He immediately was accused of slandering policemen. Therefore, the above ruling of the Russia's SC can do nothing for Demerchyan and others, who have suffered from policemen's actions," lawyer Alexander Boichenko gave his viewpoint, adding that Demerchyan's case "is indicative by its impunity for falsification of the case materials by investigators, prosecutors and the court."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.