Odessa police to answer for beating out a confession

The Odessa Regional Prosecutor has initiated a criminal investigation over bodily injuries suffered by a person under investigation in one of the Odessa police stations. According to the Prosecutor’s press service, the “case is being investigated on suspicion of the crime under Article 365 § 3 of the Criminal Code – exceeding authority and official powers which was accompanied by violence.”

The preliminary check has established that “the person in question was accused of murdering a woman whom he had rented a flat from in 2004. During measures aimed at obtaining a confession from the suspect, police offices used unlawful methods of investigation, inflicting bodily injuries of medium severity, this being confirmed by the findings of forensic medical examinations.”

Later the man was acquitted by courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court.

The Prosecutor is looking into the possible involvement of the police officers under suspicion in other cases of exceeding their powers.