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Letter of the Lugansk branch of the VCU to the head of the Lugansk militia directorate

27.07.2004   
The letter by Oleksiy Svetikov, the head of the Lugansk oblast branch of the VCU, to head of the Lugansk militia directorate on the case of Valentin N.

To the head of the Lugansk militia directorate
of the Lugansk oblast
S. Kryzhanovskiy

Respected Mr. Kryzhanovskiy!

The newspaper «Luganska Pravda» (No. 37 of 3 April 2004) published the material «Turnskins appear at night», in which the illegal detention, beating and robbery of a Lugansk dweller by a militia patrol were described. A xerocopy of this article is enclosed with the letter.

We know that, owing to your personal interference, the criminal case was started after this fact, and the militia officers, who are, maybe, guilty of the commitment of the crime, were dismissed from their posts, and the case was passed for investigation to the prosecutor’s office.

We understand that such incident could occur in any country, and any law-enforcing organ cannot be ensured from accidental people, who violate law instead of protecting it. The material made public by the newspaper aroused our anxiety about other circumstances, and we know nothing about the adequate reaction of the commandment of the militia directorate to these circumstances.

According to the information published by the newspaper, the victim of the illegal actions of militia officers was twice inclined by other militiamen to writing of the applications, which contained deliberately false statements. This happened both in the district precinct, where the beaten doctor was coercively taken, and, at the same night, in the Lugansk town militia precinct, where he turned with the complaint. In both cases the officers tried to make him to write the applications about non-participation of militiamen in the illegal actions.

If this information really represents the facts, that means that not only efficient mechanisms for disclosure of the illegal actions of militia are absent in the regional system headed by you, but, on the contrary, there exists the corporative system of the protection of any, including criminal, actions of militia officers. If the situation is such indeed, then this is a violation by the Ukrainian state of human rights envisaged by Article 13 of the European Convention on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Unfortunately, our organization, which protects human rights and supports the work of public reception office, more than once came across the cases, where militia officers exerted pressure on citizens for the purpose of obtaining evidence or explanations «needed» by militiamen.

In this connection we ask to communicate to us:

1.  Did the directorate of internal safety of the Ministry of Interior conduct the check of the information published by the newspaper «Luganska Pravda» about the violence applied to the victim for getting the applications about non-participation of militia officers in beating and other offences?

2.  If this information was corroborated, then whether the guilty were brought to responsibility, and to which?

3.  If this information was not corroborated, then whether it was refuted officially? In such case we ask you to render us the text of the refutation and the surname of the person that is responsible for reliability of the text.

4.  Which measures were taken by the militia directorate of the Lugansk oblast in the connection with the publication in the newspaper «Luganska Pravda» for the improvement of the organization of internal investigations in the regional system of the Ministry of Interior and for interpretation of legal application of Articles 143, 146 of the Criminal-Procedural Code of Ukraine and Articles 364, 373 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine?

Truly yours,
Oleksiy Svetikov, the head of the Lugansk oblast branch of the VCU

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