Kabardino-Balkarian resident demands to punish law enforcers for kidnapping and torture

Law enforcers kidnapped Asker Shetov and injured him, after which they falsified a criminal case against him, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria complained. The Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria found Asker Shetov not guilty, but the actions of the law enforcers remained unpunished.

Asker Shetov managed to escape from his kidnappers, but the police persuaded him not to file a complaint, suggesting to indicate that he had allegedly got his injuries in an accidental fall. No witnesses were questioned.

An investigator requested Asker Shetov “to calm down,” and otherwise he promised to find a reason to involve the man in a criminal case as a defendant. It became clear to Asker Shetov from the investigator’s words that the law enforcer was protecting his colleagues.

The investigator’s threats came into force, and a case was instituted against Asker Shetov for knowingly making a false accusation. The Chegem District Court found Asker Shetov guilty and imposed a minimum fine of 30,000 roubles on him.

Asker Shetov managed to prove at the Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria that he was not guilty. The verdict was cancelled, and Asker Shetov himself was acquitted.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported about cases causing wide public outcry in which residents of Kabardino-Balkaria complained about torture and falsification of cases.

So, in December 2017, Rustam Kuchmenov, a resident of Nalchik, complained to human rights defenders about torture after his detention. Rustam Kuchmenov identified five law enforcers, but none of them were removed from office. In November 2019, the Chegem District Court sentenced Rustam Kuchmenov to six years of imprisonment on the charge of theft. According to the investigators’ version, Rustam Kuchmenov and his accomplices committed domestic thefts. The man complained that law enforcers forced him to confess to the crime by torturing him with electric current.