Grigory Pasko: Run-of-the-mill lawlessness

Run-of-the-mill lawlessness

Grigory Pasko, journalist

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There probably isn’t any statistical data out there about what quantity of Chechens has been convicted by Russian courts over the past, say, ten years. Even back when I was still in the strict-regime camp, I had run into situations that bore witness to obviously falsified criminal cases in relation to persons only because they had been Chechens. I likewise studied the materials of cases where it was obviously visible: the degree of the guilt of the convicted Chechens in a series of situations was much lower than the degree of punishment. No doubt in these cases too the factor of nationality had played its role.

Here is one of the cases, which, in my view, is not as unambiguous as the court imagines it to be.

The Chechen Timur Idalov, born in the year 1967, is living outside Moscow since the year 2007 and working in construction .Simultaneously he is studying in the 4th year [of 5–Trans.] of the Juridical institute.

To put it more precisely, he lived outside Moscow and worked,because now Timur is living in an investigative isolator and is notstudying, and as part of his “practical training” in law is writingdeclarations and motions to various law-enforcement organs. It is notby chance that I wrote that Timur Idalov – is a Chechen. I am convincedthat if he had another nationality, there could simply not have been acriminal case in relation to him.

I read the bill of indictment – on 16 pages of densely printed text.A multitude of repetitions, a whole bunch of absolutely unneededinformation that has nothing to do with the case. Very many conjecturalinferences of representatives of the preliminary investigation. I catchmyself at the thought: wordiness – is the first sign of falsifiedcriminal cases. I’ve already been there, done that.

From the address of T.Idalov to the procuracy of the Odintsovsky Rayonof Moscow Oblast: “…on 11 July 2008 at around 16 h. 00min. V.V.Peryatin …rammed my automobile of the marquee VAZ 2170, whereby hecaused me significant harm by way of the intentional damaging of myproperty for a sum of more than 138 000 (a hundred thirty eightthousand) rubles,

…on 16 July 2008 at the insistent telephone request of cit-n[citizen–Trans.] V.V. Peryatin, I drove up to his place of work intothe Kuntsevsky automarket «AVTODZHIN», where employees of the FSBarrested me. …In so doing my detention, supposedly, had been carriedout within the framework of the carrying out of the ORM[operative-and-search undertaking, Soviet terminology for somethingakin to “detective operation”–Trans.] «operative element», confirmed bychief of the KM GUVD for MO [criminal police of the Main administrationof internal affairs for Moscow Oblast–Trans.] major-general of thepolice I.M. Shayev on the basis of a declaration of cit-n V.V. Peryatin.

…The witness R. Khadisova in the course of the preliminary and judicialinvestigation testified that she saw the process of my being taken intocustody and how, someone, of the persons in civilian clothing taking meinto custody, whom she will be able to identify, had stuck his handinto my left pocket of the trousers several times, as if thoughattempting, to fix something up there.

… In the course of the preliminary and judicial examination I haddeclared that the executor of the throwing in [“planting”–Trans.] ofnarcotic substances to me was employee of the 4th department of theUBOP [Administration for the struggle with organized crime–Trans.] KMGUVD for Moscow Oblast captain of the police N.S. Akimov, and a carriedout identification lineup could confirm or refute my assertions.

…From the data of the KUSP OVD [book of accounting reports aboutincidents of the Department of internal affairs–Trans.] of the city ofDolgoprudny for 16 July 2008 it follows that the declaration of V.V.Peryatin in the given book was registered by employee of the UBOP N.S.Akimov.

“After my forced detention and the planting by N.S. Akimov ofnarcotic substances, a protocol was drawn up of my personal search, inwhich I declared in written form that a packet with a narcotic had beenplanted on me by employees of the police. I likewise consider thatswabs from hands, cuttings from fingernails and the pockets of thetrousers during their researching will confirm my non-implication inthe planted narcotics..“

… Idalov himself turned to the Strasbourg court of human rights.Chairwoman of the committee Civic assistance member of the councilunder the president for assistance to the development of institutionsof civil society and human rights Svetlana Gannushkina turned to humanrights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin with a request to render every possibleassistance to Idalov in securing his constitutional rights andliberties, including that of access to fair justice. “The circumstancesand arguments set forth by Idalov, in our view, are sufficientlyconvicning… Idalov is attempting to find protection from thearbitrariness of the law-enforcement organs…“

At the present time, Idalov is found in detention in a SIZO.

The standoff between a person of Chechen nationality and the state machine of the RF continues.

…It is a strange state that has been built under Putin, isn’t it? Inthe capacity of a source of lawlessness often appear state organs. Forexample, the law-enforcement ones.

Photo of Timur Idalov from the family archive.