Verdict to Kizilyurt law enforcers continues trend of lenient punishments for using torture

The court ruling that sentenced two law enforcers to conditional sentences for beating a female detainee is another episode in the widespread Russian practice of lenient punishments in torture cases.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that a court in Kizilyurt had sentenced Magomed Timirov and Shamil Ramazanov to conditional sentences, finding them guilty of beating the detained woman. The law enforcers appealed against the verdict, but the Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan left it unchanged.

Sapiyat Magomedova, an advocate, has noted that in Dagestan, she knows not a single case of police officers being sentenced to real prison terms for using torture.

In her turn, Madina Alieva, her colleague, has noted that she is aware of such cases.

However, according to a source from the human rights "Team against Torture" (TaT)*, almost 78% of those convicted of using torture have escaped any essential punishment. The courts give them suspended sentences, exempt them from punishment, or sentence them to fines, the average amount of which is only 61,000 roubles.

"Northern Caucasus has same practices as the rest of Russia," the human rights defender has added.

Let us remind you that in October 2022, a court in Khasavyurt sentenced two policemen to 3.5 years in colony each, finding them guilty of torturing the detained Yulduz Kurashova and falsifying proofs in her criminal case. The court also found a female detective involved in falsifications, and she received a suspended sentence of one year. However, the appellate instance has overturned the sentence. After a retrial, the court sentenced the two policemen to suspended sentences and acquitted the detective.

*The "Team against Torture" (TaT, formerly the "Committee against Torture" – CaT) was created by the lawyers who had earlier worked for the CaT, which was included into the register of the NCOs performing the functions of foreign agents.