24 November 2016, Thursday

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on the application of Magomedkhan Saypudinov (41901/11), concerning events in Dagestan, on November 24, 2016. Saypudinov was at his home in Kizilyurt all day on November 30, 2010, busy with repairs. His brother and nephew were also in the house. Other witnesses later confirmed that Saypudinov was at home. Late that night, armed men in camouflage gear burst into the house, detained Saypudinov, his brother and his nephew, and took them to a local police station.

Rashid Israpilov, the applicant’s nephew, describes the events as follows: They took my uncle, Magomedkhan, into an office. I was outside in the corridor. From there, I could hear how they yelled at Magomedkhan. They shouted, ‘Hands on the table. You did this’. I also heard Magomedkhan swearing in reply that, ‘I have nothing to do with this, I haven’t done anything’. I heard how Magomedkhan fell after receiving a blow, and how the chair broke”. Saypudinov’s brother, nephew and other witnesses all say that Saypudinov was questioned all night long. The witnesses were released the next morning, but Saypudinov remained at the police station as a suspect. Saypudinov was held in a remand prison from 1-16 December without justification, and it was not until December 17, 2010, that a judge at the Kizilyurt District Court officially decided that Saypudinov should be kept in custody, with the decision taking effect that same day.  

During their work on the case, Russian Justice Initiative’s lawyers noted numerous violations committed in drawing up the interrogation reports and the conduct of the various investigation procedures. An application on the case was sent to the ECHR in 2011. The application affirmed that Articles 3 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms were violated with regard to Supaydinov.

“A person can be detained in custody for more than 48 hours only on the basis of a court order”, said lawyer with Russian Justice Initiative Bike Gyulmagomedova. “Unlawful detention in custody not only violates Russian law, but also international law, in particular, Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR recognised the violation and ordered compensation of 1000 euros to be paid to the applicant. Russia frequently violates the Convention’s provisions concerning unlawful detention in custody, and we see this violation of Article 5 of the Convention in the vast majority of cases that Russian Justice Initiative handles”.  


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