23:28, 31 August 2022

Nalchik law enforcers receive suspended sentences in case on torture

Three former policemen were found guilty of abuse of power in a case on torture of two detained residents of Nalchik. The court sentenced the defendants to three years of probation.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on August 10, during pleadings in court, an advocate of the victims stated that the evidence of the guilt of three former Nalchik policemen, accused of using violence against Alexander Knyazev and Valery Levdik, was the injuries of the victims and the fact that the law enforcers did not challenge their dismissal.

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 Nalchik City Court of Kabardino-Balkaria found three former policemen Azamat Akkaev, Beisultan Kertov, and Timur Ketov guilty of abuse of power. All three defendants were sentenced to three years of probation with a ban on work in law enforcement bodies for 2.5 years. The defendants were also ordered to pay 100,000 roubles to each victim as compensation for non-pecuniary damage, reads a message posted in the “Pravda_KBR” Telegram channel on August 30.

“For 25 years, for the first time in our republic, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) were called to responsibility,” victim Alexander Knyazev commented on the verdict.

According to the victim, he had been seeking this sentence for five years, but plans to challenge, in his opinion, too lenient punishment.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 31, 2022 at 01:57 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: The Caucasian Knot