CCPR/C/116/D/2099/2011
1.
The author of the communication is Fillip Maksimovich Polskikh, a national of the
Russian Federation born in 1955, at the time of submission serving a prison sentence in a
State penitentiary in Elets, in the Lipetsk Region of the Russian Federation. He claims to be
a victim of violations by the Russian Federation of his rights under articles 2, 7, 9 and 14 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Optional Protocol entered into
force for the Russian Federation on 1 January 1992. The author is not represented by
counsel.
The facts as presented by the author
2.1
On 29 January 2003, the Lypetsk Regional Court convicted the author of murder and
robbery and sentenced him to 21 years of imprisonment. The author submitted a cassation
appeal to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. On 18 June 2003, the Supreme
Court denied his appeal. He complained to the local prosecutor’s office and to the Office of
the Prosecutor General that during the pretrial investigation he had been subjected to torture
and ill-treatment.1 He repeated his allegations during the first instance trial and in his
cassation appeal.
2.2
The author is accused of killing a certain D. According to the prosecution, on 21
June 2002, D. was taking the author, his sister and his brother to Telelyui village to
purchase meat. The prosecution alleged that during the trip, D. was attacked, murdered and
robbed by the author.
2.3
On 24 June 2002, police officers from the Gryazi police station detained the author’s
sister, took her to a nearby forest and severely beat her. Police officers also splashed
gasoline on his sister, threatening to set her on fire and forcing her to sign a statement
incriminating the author.
2.4
On 30 July 2002, the author and his brother were returning home from work when
they were stopped by several police officers, handcuffed and taken to a garage, where both
were beaten with rubber tubes. On the same day, the author was taken to another location in
Gryazi, where he was also beaten by police officers. Later on that day, he and his brother
were taken to the Gryazi police station, where the beating with rubber tubes continued. The
police officers repeatedly picked him up by his legs and dropped him on the floor. The
author was forced to wear a gas mask with a blocked valve, so he could not breathe. As a
result, he lost consciousness several times. His brother was forced to sign a statement
incriminating him.
2.5
The author claims that, on 1 August 2002, he was taken to a hospital, where he was
examined by a doctor. The author claims that the doctor diagnosed broken ribs, several
bruises on his chest and other parts of the body and a brain concussion. He submits in
evidence a copy of a handwritten note from the hospital in Gryazi, stating that he was
diagnosed with the injuries described on 31 July 2002 and from 1 to 3 August 2002. The
author also claims that his cellmate was a stooge placed by the police, and that he also beat
the author and pressured him to confess. The beatings and ill-treatment continued until, on
9 August 2002, he agreed to sign a confession, which was written for him by someone else,
without his having had a chance to read it.
2.6
On 10 August 2002, the author was visited by an investigator from the prosecutor’s
office and by his defence lawyer, S. The author claims that instead of defending him, S.
1
2
The author provides copies of several letters from different prosecutor’s offices, stating that
“verifications” of his claims that the police had used illegal methods had been conducted and could
not be confirmed. One of the letters states that the author’s request for a supervisory review was
rejected by a decision of a Supreme Court judge on 20 November 2003.