Makitov family's lawyer treats lawsuit against power body as precedent

The court has postponed for almost two months the consideration of the lawsuit lodged by the mother and brother of Khusei Makitov, the murdered resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, against the FSB, demanding compensation for the moral harm. The FSB is responsible for the actions of its employees, said the advocate, referring to a similar decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of the policeman named Evsyukov.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 19, 2019, a court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Pavel Sterlyagov, a former FSB officer, to nine years in a high security colony after finding him guilty of a negligent murder. However, the court did not deprive Sterlyagov of his military ranks, on which the prosecution had insisted. The Makitov's mother and brother filed a lawsuit demanding to pay them five million roubles in compensation for their moral harm.

The civil litigation at the Meschansky District Court of Moscow on the lawsuit of the Makitov family, scheduled for August 5, was postponed until September 28, Ilnur Sharapov, a lawyer of the "Agora" Human Rights Group, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the lawyer, the postponement of the session has to do with the fact that the judge took time for thinking.

Mr Sharapov believes that part of the responsibility for what happened should be borne by the FSB, since at that time Sterlyagov served in its ranks. Besides, in Russia, there is a successful precedent of satisfying claims against a power body, he has noted.

"The FSB should bear responsibility, since Sterlyagov was its active employee. There is a similar precedent – the case of militiaman Evsyukov, who shot people dead in the store. He was not on duty at the time, but the ECtHR concluded that the state was responsible for his actions," the lawyer has noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 6, 2020 at 02:38 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.