Court supports Kuban resident in case on torture

The court found Nikita Khatskevich, a resident of the town of Gulkevichy, not guilty of disorderly conduct and confirmed the illegality of his detention by law enforcers. Lawyers from the Committee against Torture (CaT) claim they will seek an investigation into a case on torture about which Nikita Khatskevich complained and a punishment of law enforcers for the illegal administrative prosecution.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Nikita Khatskevich, a 20-year-old resident of the town of Gulkevichi, was hospitalized after he had been detained by law enforcers on March 18. According to the young man, he was beaten at a police station after he had refused to confess to stealing a cable.

The Gulkevichi District Court acquitted Nikita Khatskevich in the administrative case on disorderly conduct, the CaT reports on its website today.

"We have already appealed to the Chief Directorate for the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) with a request to conduct another internal check with respect to criminal investigators who detained Nikita Khatskevich. We also intend to seek an institution of a criminal case on the falsification of materials about an administrative offense," reported Anna Kotsareva, a CaT's lawyer, representing the interests of Nikita Khatskevich.

Nikita Khatskevich has got already six refusals concerning institution of a criminal case on torture, reports the CaT on its website.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 23, 2019 at 12:15 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.