APPENDIX F: SEPARATE RULING OF SUPREME COURT

JUDGE VASILII MARTYSHKIN ON TORTURE IN MORDOVIA

Unofficial translation

Case No. 2-4/98

Separate Statement

On February 12, 1998, the criminal chamber of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Mordovia, consisting of:

Chair V.N. Martyshkin,

lay assessors G.S. Baikovaia, V.S. Mitiaeva,

and clerk T.M. Trushkina

with participation of prosecutor I.A. Rusiaev,

and lawyers L.Iu. Mel'nikova, S.V. Afanas'ev, N.V. Shmakova, I.P. Shcherbakov, V.K. Galaev, M.T. Smirnova , V.V. Gavaev,

in an open court hearing in the city of Saransk in the Republic of Mordovia, after considering the criminal case against officers of the criminal investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Mordovia Alexander Alexandrovich Daev, Evgenii Nikolaevich Sazonov, Sergei Valentinovich Antonov on the basis of article 171(2) of the criminal code of the RSFSR, officers of the criminal investigation department of the Bol'shebereznikovskii ROVD Vladimir Il'ich Tutaev, Anatolii Nikiforovich Frolkin on the basis of article 171(2) of the criminal code of the RSFSR, officers of the criminal investigation department of the Lenin district ROVD in Saransk Alexander Evgenievich Guliaikin, Dmitrii Nikolaevich Kuflin on the basis of article 171(2) of the criminal code of the RSFSR, and Evgenii Nikolaevich Sazonov on the basis of article 175 of the criminal code of the RSFSR,

RULED:

By verdict of February 12, 1998, of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Mordovia, E.N. Sazonov was sentenced for forgery of official documents to one year of deprivation of his liberty for exceeding his authority and office, accompanied with violence, which inflicted pain on and degraded seven victims;

Convicted on the basis of article 171(2) of the criminal code of the RSFSR:

A.A. Daev, E.N. Sazonov to nine years and six months of deprivation of freedom each;

A.E. Guliaikin and D.N. Kuflin to five years of deprivation of freedom each;

S.V. Antonov to three years and six months of deprivation of freedom;

A.N Frolkin and V.I. Tutaev to three years of deprivation of freedom each. Tutaev's sentence is suspended, with a probation period of two years.

As officers of the criminal investigation department used torture and ill-treatment against the victims in office No. 343 of the building of the Mordovian MVD and office No. 306 of the Lenin district ROVD in Saransk, and in offices of the Bol'shebereznikosvkii ROVD, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Mordovia is required to pay compensation to indemnify the moral [sic] damage in new prices:81

- to the mother of the deceased O.V. Igonin - Valentina Mikhailovna Igonina- 200,000 rubles;

- to police major Nikolai Andreevich Abramov - 50,000 rubles;

- to Vasilii Vasilievich Abramov - officer of the State Automobile Inspectorate, and Alexander Alexandrovich Derkaev- an Afghan veteran, who was wounded and decorated for his courage, and whose eleventh rib on the right hand side the convicted broke while torturing him with a gas mask - 30,000 rubles each;

It should be noted that all these crimes were committed before the appointment of Iu. A. Liashev to the position of Minister of Internal Affairs of the Mordovia.

The officers of the criminal investigation department of the Mordovian MVD and the officers of the investigation department of the Bol'shebereznikovskii and Lenin district ROVDs in Saransk committed the crimes between April 1994 and July 1995.

1. The court established beyond a reasonable doubt that the reasons for the conditions under which the crimes of exceeding authority and office were committed by officers of the criminal investigation department of the MVD and the Bol'shebereznikovskii and Lenin district ROVDs in Saransk were a lack of control and permissiveness by the leadership of the involved ROVD, the duty service and the leadership of the Mordovian MVD.

Thus, as the court established, in April 1994 in an MVD building,82 in office no. 343, [police officers] Daev, Sazonov, Antonov used force during a so-called "informal questioning" before the interrogation of [criminal suspects] A.A. Derkaev, V.V. Abramov, N.A. Abramov, and others by investigator of the investigative department of the MVD V.P. Ushakov. In doing so, they put a gasmask on their heads, cutting the oxygen with the aim of receiving confessions from the suspects to stealing a MTZ-80 tractor from the collective farm "Kalinin" in the Bol'shebereznikovskii district of Mordovia. [The policemen] handcuffed [the brothers] Abramov, Derkaev, and the other victims, tied their legs to the floor, pulled their head toward the legs with the belt of a kimono, and beat them. One victim in the case, police major and chief of the B. Bereznikovskii GAI, N.A. Abramov, lost consciousness. A.A. Derkaev and V.V. Abramov testified to this in court.

2. We note the cruelty and refinement of the torture used by officers Daev, Sazonov, Antonov of the investigative department of the MVD and officers Tutaev and Frolkin of the investigative department of the B. Bereznikovskii district ROVD, and officers Kuflin and Guliaikin of the Lenin district ROVD.

As V.V. Abramov testified in court, he was tied in the "konvertik" position and put on his back, [police officer] Antonov and the other MVD employees beat him with the strap of the gas mask on the scrotum. Derkaev, who sustained a broken rib during the "informal questioning," told the court that [police officer] Frolkin, after putting his foot on [Derkaev's] genitals, demanded a confession, saying that he will not need them [his genitals] anymore in life.

On July 25, 1995, [police officers] Daev, Sazonov, Guliaikin demanded a confession to armed robbery from minor A.S. Lavrent'ev in office no. 306 of the Lenin ROVD83 and demanded that he name accomplices. They asphyxiated the minor several times with a type RP-4 gas mask. During the torture, which lasted for a long time, Lavrent'ev twice urinated on himself, and was beaten.

Unable to withstand the violence, the minor implicated his acquaintance O.V. Igonin, assuming that the latter was serving in the army. However, Lavrent'ev was mistaken, because Igonin was a student.

During the night of July 25, 1995, [police officers] Daev, Sazonov, Kuflin, Guliaikin, on the instruction of former heads of the Lenin ROVD in Saransk-Iu.I. Golov, V.A. Chekhonin-detained O.V. Igonin in the presence of his parents at his home.

Without submitting the detained O.V. Igonin to the duty officer's department [for registration], without writing a detention report, during night time-at 2:00 a.m.-Daev, Sazonov, Guliaikin, Kuflin, began to force Igonin into confessing to armed robbery...after they handcuffed him and bound his legs. To that end, they alltogether put a gas mask [on Igonin] and cut the oxygen. When Igonin choked, they brought him to his senses and the torture session was repeated. At around 4:00 a.m. of July 26, 1995, Igonin died, unable to stand the "informal questioning," as the defendants [the policemen] called their actions with respect to the victims.84

3. However, despite the results of the investigation of the criminal case against Daev, Sazonov, Tutaev and Frolkin, the leadership of the Mordovian MVD did not take the necessary measures, including relieving [them] from [their] official positions. This carelessness and tolerance, the attempt to defend [the police officers] led to Daev and Sazonov committing an offence with even more grave results against minor A.S. Lavrent'ev and O.V. Igonin 85

The procuracy of Saransk opened a criminal case under article 171(2) of the criminal code of the RSFSR against the criminal investigation officers [Daev and Sazonov] on June 7, 1994, about which the leadership of the MVD of Mordovia, the Bol'shebereznikvoskii and Lenin ROVD were informed. On July 25, 1995, investigator Savinov D.A. of the Saransk procuracy wrote the indictments against Daev, Sazonov, Antonov, Frolkin, and Tutaev.

From January 23, 1995 to May 3, 1995, defendants Daev, Sazonov, Antonov, Tutaev, and Frolkin were presented charges on the basis of articles 171(2) and 179(2) of the criminal code of the RSFSR.

Daev A.A. read all the materials of the criminal case on those charges by May 13, 1995, and Sazonov E.N. by July 20, 1995. Thus, they fulfilled the requirement of article 201 of the criminal procedure code of the RSFSR,just as the other defendants on the case (volume 2., pages 293, 296)

On July 25, 1995 investigator Savinov D.A. of the Saransk procuracy wrote the indictments against Daev, Sazonov, Antonov, Frolkin and Tutaev (volume 2, pages 314-350).

However, despite the presented charges and the completion of the investigation into the criminal case, officers of the criminal investigation department, including of the central apparatus of the UUR MVD of Mordovia, Daev A.A., Sazonov E.N., Antonov S.V. were not fired or relieved from their official position.

This resulted in the leadership of the UUR of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Mordova sending Daev and Sazonov to the Leninsky ROVD in Saransk to render assistance in the investigation of a robbery committed in Saransk on the night of July 22 and 23, 1995.

Thus, on July 25, 1995, Daev and Sazonov gave instruction to Guliaikin to bring the unlawfully detained minor, A.S. Lavrentev, out from IVS-1, who, under acute torture, had named the student O.V. Igonin. They had already delivered Igonin in handcuffs to the very same office, No. 306 of the Lenin district ROVD, where a few hours later he suffocated to death in a gas mask used by Daev, Sazonov, Kuflin and Guliaikin.

4. Furthermore, on the basis of the demands presented in a petition from the lawyers and the defendants in the criminal case, the court established the following legal violations of the information center of the MVD in Mordovia.

In the period, when the investigator had presented Daev the accusation and the investigation of the case concerning A.A. Daev and other employees of investigation department of the MVD of Mordovia had been completed, A.A. Daev on July 20, 1995 collected information at the information center of Mordovia about convictions and other compromising data on the witnesses of his criminal case, who exposed the use of physical abuse during interrogations by the employees of the criminal investigation department. He did so with the permission of the deputy head of the criminal investigation department of theMVD of Mordovia (there is a signature of the official in question). The witnesses: V. U Perepletchikov, U.N. Galushkin, U.B. Manerov, I.V. Chuprin, V.U. Borisov, I.V. Mukletsov, I.A. Kulikov, V.I. Sarankin.

The court considers that there was ample foundation to dismiss Daev and Sazonov, as well as to simultaneously fire them from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the period of investigation into the case; besides the crimes they committed, it is also necessary to take into account that the leadership of the Mordovian MVD took disciplinary action against both of them for breaking the law in 1994 and 1995.

5. The court established beyond a reasonable doubt that the employees of the Mordovian criminal investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the criminal investigation department of the Leninskii district ROVD in Saransk, and the criminal investigation department of the Bol'shebereznitskii ROVD in 1994 and 1995 systematically violated articles 1-14 of the law on the police of the Russian Federation, as well as article 20 of the constitution of Mordovia and article 21 of the Russian constitution.

According to the law on the police of the Russian Federation (articles 1-5), the police of the Russian Federation are obliged to defend the life, health, rights and freedom of citizens. The Russian constitution comprises the legal foundation for this activity. The police are prohibited from using degrading treatment. The use of special devices is discussed in article 14 of the law on the police of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with article 21 of the Russian constitution and article 20 of the constitution of Mordovia: "No one shall be subjected to torture, force, or any form of cruel or degrading treatment or punishment."

These requirements of the law on the police of the Russian Federation and of the constitution of Mordovia were systematically and grossly violated by the defendants for a long period of time. And the leadership of the ROVD and the MVD of Mordovia did not interfere with these violations, in spite of the fact that the MVD has its own internal security service.

In essence the employees of the criminal investigation department, having exceeded their authority and systematically used torture and ill-treatment in their dealings with victims N.N. Shubin, I.N. Ezhikov, N.A. Abramov, A.A. Derkaev, V.V. Abramov, O.V. Igonev, and A.S. Lavrentiev in 1994 and 1995, they violated the constitutional provision stating that: "No one shall be subject to torture, force, or any form of cruel or degrading treatment or punishment."

Only thanks to the interference of the procurator and the mass media in Mordova were the human rights violations of said members of the criminal investigation department stopped.

During the detention of the victims, the police used handcuffs during the interrogation without any reason, violating article 14 of the law on the police. A gas mask was forced over his head of the suspect beforehand, and the air supply was cut off. The suspects were forced to stand with half-bent legs and stretched out arms for long periods of time, and were deprived of sleep and food for lengthy periods of time. The night time interrogations and their length testify to this. These were recorded in prison journals at IVS-2 of the Mordovian MVD and viewed by the court.

As was established during the course of the procuracy's investigation, not one of the seven victims detained by officers of the criminal investigation department were involved in committing the crimes of which they were suspected, and the case against them was dismissed for lack of evidence.

6. It has been established in court that, in violation of departmental instructions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, police officers Majors N.A. Abramov and V.V. Abramov, following theirunlawful arrest and subjection to violence, were placed in cells with criminals, which subjected the lives of the innocent police officers to danger.

As is evident from the case, Major N.A. Abramov, chief of the B. Bereznikovskii ROVD, had worked for the police for a long time and was regularly promoted, to which testified among others the former chief of the ROVD.

However, after being ill-treated with a gas mask and other violence, he and V.V. Abramov were placed in a general cell with seventeen prisoners being held for various serious crimes, as well as members of organized crime groups. N.A. Abramov was held there for twenty-six days, after which he was transferred to pretrial detention center No. 1 of the Mordovian MVD.

While being tortured at the ROVD and the MVD on April 9 and 10 of 1994, one of A.A. Derkaev's ribs was broken. However, after both he and the Abramovs were placed in IVS-2, the Mordovian MVD refused to call for a doctor, and when he requested a pen and paper, the administration of the IVS-2 gave him only a box of matches, saying, "Here's your pen and paper."

And only after A.A. Derkaev's transfer to SIZO No. 1 of the Mordovian MVD on April 26, 1994 was he given medical attention by Dr. N.I. Konakov. Derkaev was held in custody unlawfully for over forty days.

After N.A. Abramov, V.V. Abramov and A.A. Derkaev were released from custody, they were hospitalized for a long period of time. The procurator of the city of Saransk found evidence during his investigation that the Mordovian MVD had violated procedure by holding police officers V.V. Abramov and N.A. Abramov in a general cell in IVS-2 and had committed other violations. The Mordovian MVD's response indicates that the violations were in fact confirmed.

However, when questioned as witnesses during the trial hearing, the leadership of IVS-2 and several employees attempted to conceal the violations, including those committed by members of the department of criminal investigations.

A.A. Derkaev's complaints regarding the IVS-2's failure to call a doctor were not recorded in the journal of initial inspections of detainees at the IVS-2. The journal does contain a remark that during the detention of Derkaev and the Abramovs at the IVS-2, the staff doctor was on vacation.

As indicated in the journal of interrogations reviewed by the court, employees of the IVS-2 gave Derkaev and the Abramovs over to detectives Daev and Sazonov without instructions from the investigator, and the request order for the interrogation was filled out by a member of the criminal investigation department of the Mordovian MVD, while they were not part of the investigative team and did not have the right to hold interrogations.

7. Furthermore, it is widespread practice in Mordovia for suspects to be called and delivered for interrogation by members of the department of criminal investigations rather than by the convoy service, which is in violation of the law.

As happened in the criminal case currently reviewed by the Supreme Court, detective of the MVD, who delivered the victims in this case, subjected Derkaev, the Abramovs and others to physical violence with the aim of forcing them to sign confessions.

Aside from the victims (seven in the case), witnesses who had shared cells with them told the court about the widespread use of violence by police in Mordovia. They testified that after a few days of beatings by the police, N.A. Abramov and A.A. Derkaev were unable to move unassisted, and that N.A. Abramov, himself a police major, wanted to commit suicide, saying that he could no longer stand the torture to which he was subjected in room No. 343 of the MVD.

N.I. Kanakov, the doctor at SIZO No. 1, N.V. Kainov, the deputy chief of SIZO No. 1, and P.A. Suraev, head of the SIZO's investigation department, all of whom were working at the time, confirmed in court that suspects brought in from the IVS-2 of the MVD often complained about beatings by police officers, and that in particular, A.A. Derkaev arrived on April 26, 1994 with traces of violence, saying that he was beaten by members of the MVD. This was noted by the doctor at SIZO No. 1, where the traces of violence were recorded on Derkaev's dispensary chart.

The court reviewed experts' conclusions regarding the nature and severity of the victims' injuries. In court, the victims' doctors confirmed that Derkaev and the Abramovs were confined to hospital beds as a result of the violence to which they were subjected by the MVD, and the same conclusion follows from the stories of their illnesses introduced in court.

At present, the Mordovian Supreme Court is hearing another criminal case, against three members of the MVD (an investigator with the special department of the MVD, a detective of the investigative department of the MVD and a detective of the department for organized crime of the MVD) connected with an accusation of unlawful detention and attempts to coerce testimony from seventeen victims with the use of violence and harassment accused of illegally detaining and attempting to coerce testimony from 17 victims with the use of violence and harassment.

8. The court also found that leadership of the B. Bereznikovskii ROVD and the criminal investigation department of the Mordovian Ministry of InternalAffairs submitted to the investigative agencies and to the court inaccurate evaluations of several defendants involved in this case.

It was found that on April 4, 1994 in the building of the ROVD A. N. Frolkin, an officer of the OUR of the B. Bereznikovskii ROVD, and a group of other defendants beat A. A. Derkaev, forced him to wear a gas mask, and stepped on his groin. As a result, Derkaev suffered a fractured rib.

In an evaluation dated December 12, 1997 that was provided to the investigator (volume 2, page 244) and presented to the court by a lawyer and which was compiled and signed by deputy chief for personnel V. N. Kuvalev of the ROVD, and by the chief of the B. Bereznikovskii's ROVD, N. A. Vediashov, it is stated that "Frolkin strictly observes all legal norms and has reorganized his work according to the latest instructions of the government and, generally, is improving the style and methods of his conduct."

According the testimony of the victim, A. A. Derkaev, while he was being beaten by the officers of the ROVD (Frolkin and Tutaev) and by officers of the criminal investigation department of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs (Daev and Sazonov) while wearing handcuffs and lying on the floor, deputy chief of the ROVD V. A. Kusliaikin entered the room and did nothing to stop the violence being committed by the defendants, of which both Frolkin and Tutayev were his direct subordinates.

According to the testimony of Kusliaikin in court, at the time in question he was temporarily acting chief of the B. Bereznikovskii ROVD and it was precisely during this period that, with his knowledge, Shubin, Derkaev, V.V. Abramov and N.A. Abramov were arrested and illegally subjected to violence.

Kusliaikin did not initiate any disciplinary action.

S.V. Antonov, an officer of the criminal investigation department of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs, participated in the violence against the four victims, one of whom (Derkaev) suffered a fractured rib and another (V.V. Abramov) was beaten about the genitals with a belt.

In an official statement of the criminal investigation department of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs (volume 2, page 245), it is noted that "S. V. Antonov strictly observes all legal norms, is extremely scrupulous and is able to properly judge his own conduct."

The court found that A. A. Daev and E. N. Sazonov, officers of the criminal investigation department f the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs, systematically in the course of "informal questions" applied torture with the use of special devices and a RSh-4 gas mask. They personally participated in six episodes of personal humiliation, including some relating to A. A. Derkaev who suffered a broken rib; to A. S. Lavrentiev, a minor who twice urinated in his pants while beingtortured; to police Major N. A. Abramov, who lost consciousness while being forced to wear a gas mask; and to O.V. Igonin, who died in an investigator's office during an "informal questioning."

The court also found (on the basis of documents from the personnel department of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs; see volume 4, page 24) that Daev (July 17, 1994) and Sazonov (February 7, 1995) had been disciplined for legal violations: each officer had received a strict reprimand for violations of official procedures.

However, in evaluations provided to the court, the criminal investigation department of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs did not refer to these disciplinary measures taken against Daev and Sazonov. Moreover, despite the severity of the crimes committed by Daev and Sazonov (under article 171(2) of the criminal code of the RSFSR) and despite the fact that Sazonov also submitted a forged official document (article 175 of the criminal code of the RSFSR), the statements regarding them read (volume 2, page 247, 249): "Daev and Sazonov are responsible in the fulfillment of their official duties and strictly observe all legal norms. They have calm natures, are proper in their treatment of civilians, have received positive evaluations and both possess proper restraint and erudition. Daev and Sazonov are respected and admired within the criminal investigations unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

However, the laudatory tone of these evaluations of Daev, Sazonov, Antonov and others does not correspond with the extreme severity of the actions they committed.

It is the opinion of the court that officers who have been disciplined for systematic violations of legal norms, who have committed serious crimes against the lives and health of the citizens that they are obliged to protect, and who have systematically violated article 20 of the Mordovian Constitution and article 21 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation which prohibit the use of torture cannot be regarded with respect and admiration by any responsible member of the criminal investigations unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Mordovia.

Therefore, the Supreme Court of Mordovia cannot accept the conclusions of the above-mentioned statements.

9. The following relates to the serious inadequacies in selecting and managing the officers of the detective units of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs and to the poor evaluation of the personal qualities of individuals applying for positions within the criminal investigations unit.

Criminal investigation unit officers V.I. Tutaev, D.N. Kuflin and A.E. Guliaikin committed crimes within one year of beginning work with the unit. A.E. Guliaikin committed crimes just one month after beginning work with the ROVD.

D.N. Kuflin was reprimanded by the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs for legal violations on May 25, 1995. He received an official conduct warning (volume 6, page 110). Two months later, on July 25, 1995, Kuflin committed a crime with a group of other individuals and subsequently (August 25, 1995) was dismissed from the ROVD.

A.A. Daev and E.N. Sazonov, both officers of the ciminal investigations unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1994 and 1995, each received two reprimands for violations of legal norms. Each was given a strict reprimand and an official conduct warning (volume 4, page 24).

V.I. Tutaev and A.E. Guliaikin had no special training for police work.

The following information attests to the formalistic attitude of the ROVD of the city of Saransk regarding the trial period of employment of A.E. Guliaikin in the criminal investigations unit and the poor evaluation of his personal qualities.

According to order No. 207 of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs issued on June 6, 1995, A.E. Guliaikin was appointed a regular officer of the criminal investigations unit of the Saransk ROVD (volume 6, page 97-101), as he was considered to have completed an abbreviated trial employment period that ended on June 10, 1995.

On the night of June 25-26, 1995, A.E. Guliaikin, together with Kuflin, Daev and Sazonov, committed a crime against O.V. Igonin. Earlier the same day, Guliaikin, together with Daev and Sazonov, tortured a minor, A.S. Lavrentiev, by forcing him to wear a gas mask.

Despite the fact that A.E. Guliaikin and D.N. Kuflin were caught red-handed in ROVD office number 306 with the body of O.V. Igonin, a request that had been submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia asking that Guliaikin be promoted to the rank of lieutenant was not revoked. After the crime that Guliaikin committed, order number 658 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russia (dated August 1, 1995) promoted him to the rank of lieutenant (volume 6, page 99).

Shortly thereafter, Guliaikin was dismissed and arrested.

Despite the fact that Frolkin, Antonov and Tutaev faced criminal charges and that investigators of the prosecutor's office had requested their dismissal, continued to work in the organs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and attempted to obstruct justice in this case and to influence the victims, for which they were (together with Kuflin) arrested on November 18, 1997.

As is evident from the files and documents obtained by the court from the Mordovan prosecutor's office, and from a presentation of the procurator of Mordovia, other officers had previously committed serious crimes for which theyhad been convicted. These facts were confirmed in court by chiefs of the Lenin district ROVD and the IVS-2, by deputy Minister of Internal Affairs V.S. Razin and by the chief of the criminal investigations unit of the Ministry of Interior V. M. Glinskii.

From the testimony of these witnesses and from documents and copies of official sentences, it was established that the following employees of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs had been convicted by the Mordovian Supreme Court:

- On July 10, 1996, V.N. Khaidukov, chief of IVS-1, was convicted under article 108 of the criminal code of the RSFSR. IVS-1 employees M.P. Igoshkin and Iu.A. Molov were also convicted of crimes committed on the territory of the IVS in connection with the same case;

- On July 22, 1996, A.N. Iurkin, an officer of the Saransk city department of internal affairs, was convicted under articles 102(a, e, i and n); article 108(1); article 117(4); article 145(2); article 146(2a and g); and article 210 of the criminal code of the RSFSR. Having been convicted of several murders and robberies, Iurkin was sentenced to death.

- On February 2, 1997, A. Mitreikin, an officer of the convoy service of the ROVD in Zubovo-Poliansk, was convicted under article 102 (a, e, and d); article 146(3); article 145(2); and article 210 of the criminal code of the RSFSR. He was sentenced to death for the murders of two individuals committed during a robbery attempt.

All these examples attest to the inadequately effective training work conducted with the staff of the departments of the Mordovian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

10. The Mordovian Supreme Court considers it necessary to draw the attention of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs to the courage and fortitude of the victim in the case of Major Nikolai Andreevich Abramov of the B. Bereznikovskii ROVD, which facilitated the exposure of the criminals and solving of the crime.

From the profile drawn during the case from his place of work, place of residence, and testimony given in court by the heads of the Bol'shebereznikovskii ROVD and colleagues, the characterization of Major N.A. Abramov can be only positive. N.A. Abramov, head of the regional State Automobile Inspection, prosecuted unlawfully on suspicion of stealing an MTZ-80 tractor from the Kalinin collective farm of the B. Bereznikovskii region of Mordova, courageously tolerated the degradation and humiliation by the criminal investigation department employeesA.A. Daev, E.N. Sazonov, and S.V. Antonov, who subjected him to violence with a gas mask Rsh-4 and special devices, and to detention with criminals in a general cell at IVS-2 of the MVD. After recuperating, N.A. Abramov, as indicated in the case materials, has continued to work scrupulously at the Bol'sheberznikovskii ROVD as a precinct officer.

As established by the court in the given case, N.A. Abramov, while unlawfully held in custody for 26 days, was the only one of seven victims in the criminal case able to withstand all types of physical violence to which he was subjected by his former colleagues, and never slandered anyone or showed weakness. He displayed a high level of awareness and fortitude in assisting in uncovering this crime and exposing figures in internal affairs agencies who disgraced their profession.

Therefore, the Supreme Court of Mordovia requests that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia recognize the courage and fortitude of the victim, N.A. Abramov, who demonstrated the finest qualities of a police officer, and regardless of the degradation and violence to which he was subjected, continues to conscientiously fulfill his duties.

The Supreme Court of Mordovia has deemed it necessary to draw the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Procurator General of Russia the causes and conditions revealed to have facilitated commission of crimes in the organs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Mordovia, the violation of civil rights during so called "informal questioning," and detention in Mordovia, with the aim of averting them in the future, not only on the territory of Mordovia but in all regions and republics of the Russian Federation.

Guided by articles 21(1) and 321 of the criminal procedure code of the RSFSR, the Supreme Court of Mordovia

HAS DETERMINED:

1. In the aim of preventing such violations in the future, to draw the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia to the causes and conditions which facilitated commission of crimes in the organs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Mordovia and violation of civil rights during so called "informal questioning," during which torture and coercion were used by members of the department of criminal investigations.

2. To bring to the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia the courage and fortitude displayed by Major Nikolai Andreevich Abramov of the Bol'shebereznikovskii ROVD of Mordovia in fulfilling his duties, which allowed for the uncovering of the crime in question.

To bring this particular ruling to the attention of the General Procurator of Russia.

In accordance with article 21(6) of the criminal procedure code of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs must take the necessary measures regarding this ruling and report the results to the Supreme Court of Mordova.

The ruling can not be appealed, but the procurator can launch a protest through the Supreme Court of Mordovia to the Supreme Court of Russia.

Signed

Chairman:

Lay assessors:

V.N. Martyshkin

Translated by Diederik Lohman, Genine Babakian, Robert Coalson, and Will Irving.