Lawyer claims torture and self-incrimination of Karachay-Cherkessia native

Ruslan Esekkuev, a native of Karachay-Cherkessia, has been under investigation for over two years in the case of the murder of a cash collector in 1996. He told his lawyer that he was tortured and signed a confession because security forces threatened to prosecute his son and wife.

Ruslan Esekkuev's lawyer Umalat Saygitov told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about the case of 51-year-old Ruslan Esekkuev. The investigation into the murder committed almost 30 years ago has been ongoing for over two years, during which time the investigation has already updated the charges brought against Esekkuev five times, the defense attorney said.

According to the lawyer, in September 2023, Esekkuev, having been tortured and threatened, gave a confession in the case of murder with aggravating circumstances (Article 102 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR). Before that, he was held for eight days in the Salsk temporary detention facility with three men who exerted psychological pressure on Esekkuev and threatened him with sexual violence if he did not sign the papers prepared by the investigator.

“In addition, mental violence against my client was carried out by an operative named Sergei, who detained him - he threatened Esekkuev with planting drugs on his son and wife if he did not cooperate with the investigation. As a result, under pressure, my client signed a statement in which he admitted his participation in the robbery, which resulted in the murder of the collector, as well as other documents, including a waiver of defense by agreement," Saigitov said.

He petitioned to have Essekuev's testimony declared inadmissible evidence at the initial stage of the investigation, but his request was denied. "The investigation has been ongoing for more than two and a half years. On September 1, my client's detention was again extended for another 3 months. This is unprecedented for the investigation to be delayed so much," the lawyer is indignant. According to him, the investigation is being delayed due to the constant change in the wording of the charges, although in essence nothing has changed in these wordings.

He noted that Essekuev had already been punished in the past for indirect involvement in the crime in question. "The criminal case is thirty years old, when there were a lot of attacks on cash collectors. In 1996, his second cousins asked him to take them to a certain place. Then they gave a signal, he came and picked them up. But he didn't know that they were going to shoot. There, they apparently started shooting at the cash collector's car and killed one," Saigitov explained.

The perpetrators of the murder of the cash collector were killed in gang warfare in the 1990s, and operatives found Essekuev 16 years later. "In 2012, they "accepted" him and he confessed that he took them there. He didn't know that they were going to kill someone there. He was convicted of concealing a crime (Article 316 of the Criminal Code). But in 2023, they suddenly decided to reopen the investigation, accusing Essekuev himself of complicity in the murder. Apparently, one of the security officials wanted to get a "stick" for the so-called disclosure of a long-past case," the lawyer said.

Saigitov drew attention to the fact that the article on concealment of a crime, under which Ruslan Essekuev was convicted, is a minor article. "And complicity in murder is an especially serious offense, and therefore the offset could not take place here. The statute of limitations for robbery has already expired, but the statute of limitations for murder remains at the discretion of the court, because this is an especially serious offense. Under this article for murder, the issue of extending the statute of limitations is decided by the court," he explained.

The entire charge, according to the lawyer, is based on Essekuev's testimony. "The only evidence of Essekuev's guilt is his testimony, which he gave under torture, under pressure, when he was taken to the "press hut" in Salsk. There is a statement about this, but the investigation is not paying attention to it," Saigitov noted.

The lawyer added that Essekuev's sentence will be determined under Article 102 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, which was in effect at the time the crime was committed. He noted that this article provides for a lesser punishment than the similar article in the current Criminal Code. A jury trial is possible for the murder charge, but, as Umalat Saigitov notes, it is not beneficial to the investigation and the prosecution. "That is why it was said that Essekuev could also be charged with an extremism article in order to prevent a jury trial. Although there is no basis for this," he emphasized.

Lawyer Timofey Shirokov, who is not connected with the Esekkuev case, confirmed that the article of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR could be applied in his case. "The sentences there were shorter, and although there was the death penalty, a moratorium on its execution was introduced under the old code," he said.

At the same time, Shirokov doubted the admissibility of evidence in such an old case. "Even if the court decided to extend the statute of limitations for murder, is the testimony of the alleged culprit enough?" the lawyer noted.

Lawyer Marina Agaltsova, who is also not connected with this case, expressed doubts about the legality of resuming the investigation. "In the Russian Federation, murder is a particularly serious category of cases, the statute of limitations is 15 years, but the statute of limitations can be suspended if the person was hiding from the investigation. It turns out as if he was hiding from the investigation. But he was already convicted of concealment, that is, he was not hiding from the investigation. Here we can talk about whether it is lawful to initiate a case now," she said.

According to the lawyer, after a long period of time, the quality of evidence invariably deteriorates. "This is a property of time, it kills evidence, so proving a crime of such a long time ago is extremely difficult. However, in our country, since there is no real competition in criminal proceedings and the number of acquittals is minimal, the quality of evidence does not affect (the result) as much as, for example, in countries with a real competitive system. Therefore, such cases are extremely dangerous by their nature: it turns out that you can come with nothing to a system where acquittals are rare, and a person will be punished for something for which there is no evidence,” Agaltsova explained.

She also noted that double punishment for the same crime is unacceptable. "Earlier, the court found that he drove (the perpetrators) to the place where the murder was committed, but did not participate in the murder and did not have such a goal. But now it turns out the opposite, it seems that he participated in the murder, there is a conflict with the sentence that has already been passed. It turns out that the investigation will review the judicial act that has not been canceled and which cannot be reviewed. Here I see a real problem," Agaltsova summarized.

* the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.