Prosecution demands real prison for policemen-figurants in torture case in KBR

At the trial of the case of former Nalchik policemen accused of torturing Alexander Knyazev and Valery Levdik, the prosecutor's office requested five and a half years in prison for each of the defendants.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the investigation into the case of abuse of power by policemen has been ongoing since February 2017. Knyazev and Levdik had confirmed their innocence in the theft, in which they were suspected by law enforcers.

According to the prosecution, on October 28, 2016, three policemen took Knyazev and Levdik to the Nalchik department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR). The policemen "put bags on the heads of Knyazev and Levdik, roped their hands and took away their phones." Knyazev and Levdik were kept in the MIA building for almost 24 hours. One of the figurants hit Knyazev several times in the area of his ribs and thigh, and beat him up on the temple. The policeman "laid Levdik on the floor face down and struck him at the area of his kidneys for at least six times." On the basis of the knocked-out confessions, a criminal case was opened against the men; each of them was sentenced to a conditional imprisonment.

"The accused policemen refused to plead guilty; they took steps to avoid responsibility, protracted the investigation and failed to take steps to amend the damage ... We treat the prison terms requested by the prosecutor as low," Vitaly Zubenko, an advocate, has stated.