Russian Federation: Russian police officer found guilty of crimes against the civilian population in the Chechen
Republic
Amnesty International welcomes the conviction and sentencing of Sergei Lapin, member of a special federal riot police
unit (OMON) from the Khanty-Mansiisk region in the Russian Federation, by the Oktiabrskii District Court in Grozny in
the Chechen Republic. For the first time a member of the Russian federal forces has stood trial in Chechnya itself for
human rights violations against the civilian population. Sergei Lapin had been involved in the torture and
"disappearance" of 26-year-old Zelimkhan Murdalov, who was detained on 2 January 2001 in Grozny.
The court on 29 March 2005 found Sergei Lapin guilty of intentional infliction of serious harm to health under
aggravating circumstances (article 111, part 3 of the Russian Criminal Code); exceeding official authority under
aggravating circumstances (article 286, part 3) and forgery by an official (article 292).
He was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment in a strict regime prison colony. On release he will be banned from working
for agencies under the Ministry of Internal Affairs for three years. In addition, the court sent a special ruling to the
head of the Khanty-Mansiiskii OMON, reportedly criticising the conduct of the OMON unit serving in Chechnya in broader
terms. Other individuals responsible for the torture and "disappearance" of Zelimkhan Murdalov have yet to be identified
and brought to justice.
Amnesty International has closely followed the case and campaigned for those who were found responsible for the
"disappearance" of Zelimkhan Murdalov to be brought to justice. Amnesty International's section in Norway provided
finances for the legal support in this landmark case.
Sergei Lapin was initially detained and taken into pre-trial detention in January 2002. He was released in May of the
same year pending trial. The trial started in October 2003 after intensive efforts of the family of Zelimkhan Murdalov
to see justice done. The investigation found that on 3 January 2001 Zelimkhan Murdalov was taken into a cell in the
district police of Oktiabrskii district by Sergei Lapin and another unidentified official. There Sergei Lapin had beaten
Zelimkhan Murdalov with a truncheon. Zelimkhan Murdalov was also subjected to electric shock treatment while in
detention. Witnesses told the court that while in the cell, Zelimkhan Murdalov could hardly stand and lost consciousness
several times. His arm was broken, his ear torn and he had received a concussion to his head. The next day Sergei Lapin
and some as yet unidentified colleagues took Zelimkhan Murdalov out of the cell and since then his fate and whereabouts
remain unknown.
Zelimkhan Murdalov's family faced harassment and intimidation for seeking justice and his mother and sister had to leave
the country in search of security. Zelimkhan Murdalov's father Astemir Murdalov told Amnesty International that he is
still searching for information about his son’s fate.
Throughout the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic, Amnesty International has been concerned about the climate of
impunity prevailing there and has called on the Russian authorities to bring to justice perpetrators of human rights
violations. However, very few effective measures have been taken. Only very few cases of "disappearance", torture and
ill-treatment or extrajudicial execution have reached the Courts. Many Chechen civilians have decided to turn to the
European Court of Human Rights as the Russian judicial system has failed to show real commitment to punish those who
commit human rights violations in the North Caucasus. While this ruling is of great importance not only for the family
of Zelimkhan Murdalov, but for many other people in the Chechen Republic, who have been subjected to human rights
violations and war crimes, much more needs to be done. Russian and Chechen officials give about 2000 as the official
figure for "disappearances" since late 1999 and unofficial estimates are as high as 5000 "disappeared". Amnesty
International and other human rights organizations working in the region have found evidence of the involvement of
federal and Chechen forces in a large number of such cases of "disappearances".
View all AI documents on the Russian Federation:http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadlWjabfDv1bb0hPub/