Investigation into torture in Rostov prison hospital dropped
Investigators have not identified any suspects in the case of torture in the Rostov prison hospital and have closed the investigation. The representative of the victims was outraged by this decision.
As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, in July 2024 it became known about the initiation of a new criminal case on torture in the Rostov interregional prison hospital (MOTB-19). According to the investigation, from January 1, 2018 to January 8, 2020, unidentified persons tied prisoners to beds for long periods of time and gave them injections.
In November 2020, after the death of a convict in the Rostov tuberculosis hospital of the Federal Penitentiary Service, a criminal case was initiated under the article on causing bodily harm resulting in death. By December 2020, 21 prisoners had complained about unacceptable conditions in the prison hospital. A year later, a criminal case was opened for abuse of power in connection with the torture and death of prisoners. Sixty-two victims testified, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Case of torture of prisoners in the Rostov hospital".
The criminal case on torture in MOTB-19 has been closed because investigators have not found any suspects, 161.ru reports. "A decision was made to suspend the criminal case on the grounds provided for in paragraph 1 of part 1 of article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation," the publication quotes the deputy head of the department for the investigation of especially important cases as saying.
According to this provision of article 208 ("Grounds, procedure and terms for suspending the preliminary investigation") of the Criminal Procedure Code, the preliminary investigation is suspended if the person subject to prosecution as an accused has not been identified.
There are no words, this is simply inexplicable impudence and cynicism
"The criminals have not been identified. That's how it is, the committee does not see the criminals point-blank... There are real names, real indications of these scoundrels. There are no words, this is simply inexplicable impudence and cynicism," the publication quoted the lawyer representing the interests of the victims as saying. The lawyer's name is not mentioned in the publication.
The second criminal case, which included materials on torture from 2018 to 2019, was opened in February 2024 - after a verdict was issued in the first case, on torture in 2020. Both cases were handled by the same investigator for especially important cases, who resigned in January 2025. She refused to comment on the criminal cases she handled, since she became a civilian. The press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation confirmed the information about the investigator's dismissal, the publication writes.
Recall that in January 2024, a court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced the former deputy head of the FSIN tuberculosis hospital, Alexander Lyakh, to 7.5 years in prison, finding him guilty of organizing the torture of patients. The head of the psychiatric department, Daria Pozdnyakova, received six years, and psychiatrist Anastasia Potorochina received five years in prison. The convicts demanded that the sentence be overturned, insisting on their innocence, but the regional court upheld the sentence.
On April 20, it became known that former hospital psychiatrist Anastasia Potorochina wrote a statement asking for permission to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. According to 161.ru, by this time, Aleksandr Lyakh had already left for the SVO.
The arrested, with the exception of those involved in cases of treason, terrorism, extremism, and fakes about the army, have the opportunity to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense and end up in the military operation zone, and their criminal prosecution is immediately terminated. This has already led to the creation of a "conveyor belt of impunity," human rights activists noted.
Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/413184