Krasnodar Territory: militiaman convicted for excess of powers

In the Krasnodar territory, a militiaman was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment for beating Nishik Sloyan, a resident of Pshekhskaya village, during interrogating the latter.

The Belorechensky District Court has recognized Roman Keshekov, a militiaman-in-charge, guilty under Article 286, Section 3, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Excess of official powers with application of special means and causing of heavy consequences". The accused person was arrested in the courtroom.

The investigation has established that on March 5, 2007, Mishik Sloyan, a resident of Pshekhskaya village, was summoned to interrogation to Office 317 of the Interior Department (OVD) of the Belorechensky District. Mr Sloyan works at the local "Eurokhim" factory, and in this connection Senior Militia Lieutenant Keshekov demanded from him to confess of a theft committed in one of the factory shops.

Mishik Sloyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent: "...Keshekov drove my arms to the back, put handcuffs on and pulled a gas mask over my head. They attached clothespins with wires to my ears and switched on the current. I fell down from the chair and lost consciousness. They tortured me for 2 hours. <...> The only thing that I remember is my father who took me out of the department in his arms."

At the Central District Hospital of the city of Belorechensk, militiamen forced, by threatening to cause harm to the health of the members of his family, Sloyan to sign an application that he had fallen down by himself. However, on the following day Mishik all the same wrote a complaint to the local prosecutor's office.

The defendants at the trial were militiamen-in-charge R. Keshekov and A. Zolotukhin. However, on August 28, the case in relation to Zolotukhin was stopped, since the latter presented a certificate from the Belorechensky OVD that he had been on his vacation on that date.

"We still have to overturn this fact. As to Keshekov, he refused to plead guilty and told in his last plea that he had been performing his civil duty in the name of his homeland," Zinaida Kichigina, human rights activist from Novorossiysk, who represented Sloyan's interests in the court, told the "Caucasian Knot".

After the beatings, Mishik Sloyan became Category II invalid. He has three children, but by virtue of the state of his health he can no longer work at the local factory, however, there is practically no other employment in Pshekhskaya village.