The Case of Lapin (Cadet)

Sergey Lapin served as an inspector for the search of the search group of the criminal investigation department of the criminal police of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Nizhnevartovsk region of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug . On November 01, 2000, he was seconded to Grozny in the Chechen Republic , where from November 3, 2000 to January 14, 2001 he was the detective officer of the anti- terrorism and organized crime group of the temporary department of the internal affairs of the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny. On January 2, 2001, employees of the Oktyabrsky VOVD detained Zelimkhan Murdalov, after which the young man disappeared. An investigation conducted by his father, Astamir Murdalov, and an employee of the Grozny branch of the Memorial Human Rights Center , Natalya Estemirova , made it possible to establish that Zelimkhan was half-killed and then taken out of the VOVD in an unknown direction, and that Lapin- “Kadet” was involved in this crime. . Anna Politkovskaya wrote about this story several times in Novaya Gazeta ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

The first process

The first process lasted from the end of 2003 to March 2005. Before the start of the trial, Lapin and his counsel initiated a question on changing the territorial jurisdiction of the case. Referring to the fact that the consideration of the case in the Chechen Republic cannot be objective, they demanded that the case be transferred to another region of Russia for consideration. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation rejected this request. The case was examined in the Oktyabrsky District Court of Grozny, chaired by Judge Mayerbek Mezhidov. During the trial, the Kadet was not detained. On March 29, 2005, a verdict was passed by which Lapin was convicted:

according to Art. 111 h. 3 p. “A” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for 8 years;

according to Art. 286 h. 3 pp. “A, b, c” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for 7 years, with deprivation of the right to hold positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies for a period of 3 years;

according to Art. 292 of the Criminal Code for 1 year.

By partial addition of sentences, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison in a maximum security penal colony with the deprivation of the right to hold positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement bodies for a term of 3 years ^[6] .

Sentence Quotes

“Lapin, having received from investigator Zhuravlev ... Murdalov, led the latter to his office, where ... he began beating Murdalov for several hours, together with unidentified investigators, using his hands and feet, and also using a special tool - a rubber stick PR-73 - multiple strokes in various parts of the body, causing damage to him in the form of a traumatic brain injury, accompanied by life-threatening pathological conditions in the form of prolonged loss of consciousness, convulsions, respiratory failure ... When employees of the ITT, having noticed Murdalov’s body injuries, refused to put him in a cell, Lapin ... made an explanation on behalf of Murdalov that Murdalov received these injuries when he fell from a height of his height "

“Witness Malyukin N.G. (doctor of the VOVD at that time. - A.P.) ... testified that on January 2, 2001, at about 9 o’clock in the evening ... when he arrived at the temporary detention center, he examined Murdalov ... He was in the cell with Murdalov until 24 hours, during this time Murdalov had several seizures, no more than 10 ... the muscles of his whole body contracted sharply, his teeth clenched, his eyes rolled up ... he did not breathe and was unconscious ... He gave Murdalov four injections ... About midnight he left the IVS. ”

“Witness Khadaev Kh. D. (cellmate - A.P.) explained to the court that by the evening of January 2, Lapin and three or four people had brought Murdalov to the IVS. Murdalov could not stand on his feet. Murdalov’s right ear was torn, hung on his skin, his arm was broken, his clothes were all dirty. The doctor examined Murdalov, and he heard the doctor tell the elder Prilepin that Murdalov had an open fracture of his arm, a head injury, and his testicles were broken ... that urgent surgical intervention was required, since Murdalov would not be able to survive with such injuries. The doctor is gone. After half an hour, the persons kept in the cell with him began to call the duty officer and reported that Murdalov was dying. He said that they would say a prayer over him according to Muslim customs. In such a dying condition, Murdalov was until the morning. On January 3, in the morning, Lapin, Prilepin and several other employees dragged Murdalov away, he could not stand. He is sure that Murdalov died after such injuries and police officers hid his corpse. Lapin was particularly cruel in torturing the detainees. The detainees Dalaev and Gazhaev told him that they had been tortured with electric shock, batons, and hammers, an employee named Cadet. Dalayev pulled out meat from the chest with pliers, poisoned with a dog, hammered a nail into his collarbone. During the torture they asked where the militants were. ”

“Witness Batalov S.-H. A. showed the court that during the verification of the statement of victim Murmalov Astemir, received in January 2001, prosecutors in the territory adjacent to the Oktyabrskiy VOVD found the bodies of three teenagers who had previously ridden bicycles near the VOVD. The corpses were mutilated, their eyes were gouged out, and the scalp was removed. With respect to unidentified persons committing crimes in a preliminary conspiracy with Lapin, the criminal case is set aside in a separate proceeding ”

“On the morning of January 3, Lapin, fearing that the fact of causing him bodily harm to Murdalov would be made public, acting in a preliminary conspiracy with unspecified investigators, signed on behalf of Murdalov ... in the decree on release from the IVS in the column“ signature of the released person ”, in the protocol Murdalov’s personal search in the column “seized ... received” ... Then officers of the Oktyabrskiy VOVD who were not identified by the investigation, acting with the knowledge and consent of Lapin, took Murdalov out of the IVS and took him to an unknown destination ii. "

Appeal of sentence

Lapin’s defense attorney - G. Degtyarev’s lawyer, having appealed the verdict to all courts in succession, appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation with a supervisory appeal. On January 17, 2007, the Supreme Court of Russia quashed the verdict in the Lapin case due to the fact that the trial court referred to Lapin’s testimony given during the preliminary investigation in the absence of a lawyer, which Lapin subsequently refused (case No. 23-D06-12 ) ^[7] . The criminal case was sent for re-examination to the Oktyabrsky District Court.

Second process

At the request of Lapin, the case was considered by a panel of judges composed of: Muskhadzhieva F.A., Machukaeva B.I., chaired by Judge Mamaeva A.S.

The state prosecution was supported by the prosecutor of the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny, Rosetov V. S.

The interests of Murdalov’s relatives were represented by lawyer Stanislav Markelov ^[8] .

Lapin was defended by counsel G. Degtyarev

The version of Lapin’s defense was his complete innocence. In court, the Kadet claimed that he did not work with Murdalov and did not beat Murdalov. At the request of investigator Zhuravlev, he sent Murdalov to the IVS of the Oktyabrsky VOVD.

The accusation of committing official forgery (Article 292 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) was excluded from Lapin’s prosecution, since by that time the statute of limitations had already expired for bringing to criminal liability under this article.

On November 27, 2007, the October court of Grozny found Lapin guilty of committing crimes under paragraphs. “A, b, c” part 3 of article 286, paragraph "a" part 3 of article 111 of the Criminal Code, and sentenced him:

under item "a" h. 111 of the Criminal Code - for a period of eight years;

by item “A, b, c” part 3 of article 286 of the Criminal Code - for a term of seven years with the deprivation of the right to hold positions in the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement bodies for a period of three years.

The final measure of punishment “Kadet” was assigned in the form of 10 years and 6 months of imprisonment, with deprivation of the right to occupy posts in the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement bodies for a term of three years, with the serving of a sentence in a penal colony of strict regime ^[9] .

According to Alexander Cherkasov, the Cadet is the only Russian law enforcement officer sitting in places of detention for thousands of such crimes ^{[10] [ significance of fact? ]} .

On July 26, 2011, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation examined the supervisory appeal of the lawyer A. Degtyarev, the defender of the Kadet. The Supreme Court upheld Lapin's guilt. At the same time, the term of punishment of “Kadet” was reduced by 6 months - to 10 years in prison, in connection with the mitigation of the sanction under one of the articles imputed to him - Part 3 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code (case No. 23-D11-5) ^[11] .

The other two defendants in the “Cadet case” are former commanders of the Khanty-Mansi riot police, Lieutenant Colonel Valery Minin and Major Alexander Prilepin, under whose leadership Sergey Lapin served in Chechnya. A criminal case against them was initiated by the prosecutor of the Chechen Republic at the end of 2005. As of autumn 2015, both were on the federal wanted list ^[12] .

The term of punishment of "Cadet" expired in mid-2014.

In December 2015, Minin was detained in Omsk and transferred to the Chechen Republic. However, he did not reach his destination, because in Volgograd the accused was removed from the train and returned back. A little later, in January 2016, an amnesty was declared against both accused, declared on the 70th anniversary of the Victory. The criminal prosecution of Minin and Prilepin was discontinued ^[13] .

• Ullman case
• Arakcheev case
• The case of Budanov
• Chechen conflict

• Hostage of death squads , article in the Russian Newspaper, 02/06/2004.
• "Cadet" sentenced for torture of a resident of Chechnya for 10 and a half years , "Caucasian Knot", 11/27/2007.
• The text of the sentence Lapin Memorial
• Cadet will sit Newspaper
• Cadet case: guilty of YugraInform without fault
• CASE OF THE CARTET: Grated executioner (neopr.) . 2005.novayagazeta.ru (April 4, 2005). Date of treatment September 9, 2016.
• Illegal prison in the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny