For thirteenth time, ICRF refuses to open case on torture in Anapa

For the thirteenth time, investigators have refused to initiate a criminal case on the torture complaints submitted by three residents of the city of Anapa. For about four years of conducting various checks, a lot of opportunities have been lost to obtain evidence in applicants' favour, said Anna Kotsareva, a lawyer of the Committee against Torture (CaT).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Tigran Grigoryan, Artyom Beglaryan and Grigory Achkasov, residents of Anapa, reported that they had been beaten up and tortured by electric current after their detention in December 2015. According to their version, they were forced to confess to robbery on an elderly couple. In February 2016, investigators refused to open criminal cases of torture; and in July 2016, all the above three persons were found guilty of robbery and sentenced to prison terms.

For the thirteenth time, investigators have refused to initiate a criminal case on the complaints of Beglaryan and Achkasov about torture in Anapa. The applicants' representatives received a copy of the refusal on April 27.

Beglaryan and Achkasov have been complaining of torture for about four years.

The red tape with the checks is directly affecting the chances to confirm the version of Beglaryan and Achkasov, said Anna Kotsareva, a lawyer of the CaT.

"In both cases, they were in no hurry to conduct the checks ... They missed the most important proofs and the very possibility of obtaining them. In particular, the records from surveillance cameras have already been lost." But the most important thing, according to the lawyer, for the four years, they failed to conduct even one forensic medical examination.

"We'll appeal against this refusal judgement and demand to declare it illegal, to cancel it and conduct a really normal check," Ms Kotsareva has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 28, 2020 at 04:48 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.