VS: not only officers, but also the state must compensate the families of conscripts who committed suicide in the army

The Supreme Court (SC) recognized that the state must compensate for moral damages to the families of conscripts who committed suicide in the army. this . reports Kommersant

The court considered the cassation appeal of Svetlana Latyuk, the mother of conscript soldier Stanislav Kuzema, who died in the Ussuri military unit. Latyuk wanted the Ministry of Defense to pay moral damages to the family of the deceased soldier.

Courts in previous instances rejected her, considering that the specific officer who bullied Kuzema should compensate for the damage.

The Supreme Court recognized that it is the state, and not a specific serviceman, who must compensate for moral damage. The court recalled that damage caused as a result of illegal actions of officials and other employees of government agencies is compensated from the treasury.

The case was sent for a new trial to the Ussuri Garrison Military Court. Simultaneously with the decision of the Supreme Court, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) communicated Latyuk’s complaint, Kommersant adds.

In the spring of 2019, the body of 18-year-old Kuzema was found in the forest near military unit No. 39255. The Investigative Committee opened a case of abuse of official powers (points “a”, “c” of Part 3 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code). Senior Lieutenant Yevgeny Khomyakov was sentenced to six years in prison. The military man was also charged 2.1 million rubles in compensation and was also stripped of his officer rank.

After this, the newspaper notes, the family of the deceased filed a claim against the Ministry of Defense for 9 million rubles in moral damages.