A Nizhny Novgorod resident sued the ECHR for 20 thousand euros for torture in the "E" center

The court found that Nikita Danishkin, convicted of possession of explosives and attempted manufacture of an explosive device, was subjected to torture.

On May 2, 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on three applications by Russians who complained of torture by the police, including a complaint by Nikita Danishkin. Russia will be obliged to pay him 20,000 euros as compensation for non-pecuniary damage for torture in the Center for Combating Extremism (CPE) of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

The Strasbourg judges unanimously found that the Russian law enforcement agencies had violated the provisions of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights: the applicant had been subjected to torture and his allegations about this had not been effectively investigated.

Danishkin, a former police officer and, according to law enforcement agencies, a supporter of Nazi ideology, was detained in December 2010. In June 2011, he was sentenced to three years in prison for illegal possession of explosives (part 1 of article 222 of the Criminal Code) and attempted manufacture of an explosive device (part 3 of article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and part 1 of article 223 of the Criminal Code) .

According to him, after the detention, the CPE officers, including the head of this structure, Aleksey Trifonov, beat and tortured him for several hours, forcing him to confess to preparing a terrorist act and disseminating information defaming their own honor and dignity. The duty officer of the temporary detention center where Danishkin was sent after the interrogation sent him to the hospital for a medical examination, where doctors diagnosed him with bruises and bruises on his face. Upon admission to the pre-trial detention center, he also had multiple bruises.

Danishkin reported the crime to the Investigative Committee, but the criminal case was never opened. The investigator ruled six times to refuse to initiate a criminal case, in 2013 the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court recognized the last decision as legal. After that, the lawyers of the Committee against Torture sent a complaint to the ECtHR. The inspection resumed, since then seven more decisions were issued to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings, the eighth is currently being appealed.

The CPE states that Danishkin received numerous bruises when he was taken out of the department to the temporary detention facility: he allegedly tried to escape, but they caught up with him, "dropped him to the ground with a sweep" and handcuffed him. According to lawyer Danishkin, the forensic medical examination does not confirm this version, not to mention the fact that it is almost impossible to escape from the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod center "E", since the building is surrounded by a high fence.

In 2018, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ruled to resume proceedings on Danishkin’s complaint, after which, in 2019, the Investigative Committee of the RF Investigative Committee for Nizhny Novgorod opened a criminal case. As part of his investigation, the CPE officers during interrogations continued to defend the version that Danishkin hit the ice when he fell while trying to escape. On March 16, 2020, it became known that the proceedings were closed. Lawyers of the Committee Against Torture announced their intention to appeal against the decision to dismiss the criminal case. However, the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution in this case expires in December 2020.

Sources

• A man detained by the Nizhny Novgorod Center "E" sued 20,000 euros in the European Court for torture // Committee Against Torture. 2017. May 2.
• The ECtHR awarded 20 thousand euros to a Nizhny Novgorod citizen who was tortured by employees of the Center "E", demanding to confess to the preparation of a terrorist attack // Mediazone. 2017. May 2.
• Vladimir Zubarev. The case of torture in the Nizhny Novgorod center for combating extremism was dismissed // Kommersant. March 16, 2020