The ECHR awarded 90 thousand euros in compensation to the family of a Grozny resident who was beaten to death in a police station

The European Court of Human Rights awarded 90 thousand euros to the family of Chechen resident Zelimkhan Murdalov, who was beaten to death by officers of the temporary department of internal affairs of the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny. This is reported on the court's website. Murdalov’s interests were represented by the human rights project “Legal Initiative”.

As stated in the release, on January 2, 2001, Murdalov was detained not far from the department. The police said that the man was using drugs and beat him. Then the security forces put a coat on his head and took him into the department. There they tried to persuade Murdalov to cooperate, after which criminal investigation officer Sergei Lapin beat the detainee with his fists, feet and a baton. A case was opened against a local resident under Article 228 of the Criminal Code (possession of drugs), which was later closed due to the lack of corpus delicti.

On the evening of the next day, Murdalov was transferred to a temporary detention facility, where the doctor recorded an open fracture of his left arm, a ruptured ear and a head injury with loss of consciousness and breathing difficulties. The release clarifies that the man suffered several strokes in the cell. Lapin stated in his testimony that Murdalov fell down the stairs and received “several bruises.”

On January 3, the investigator ordered the release of Murdalov; Lapin forged the detainee’s signature on the document. The man was taken out of the department in an unknown direction and has not been seen since.

As stated in the ECHR decision, one of the witnesses in the case saw how the detainee was brought to the temporary detention facility, severely beaten. According to him, Murdalov could not stand on his feet or move without assistance. The court concluded that when the detainee was taken away in an unknown direction, he was already dead.

The court found violations of Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (mental suffering due to the loss of loved ones and indifference of the authorities) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In 2003, the court declared Murdalov missing. A criminal case was opened against the security forces, which was suspended several times and eventually closed. In 2007, a court in Grozny, after reviewing the case, sentenced Lapin to 10.5 years in prison. He was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Murdalov (Part 3 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code), forgery of official duties (Article 292 of the Criminal Code) and abuse of office (Part 3 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code).