MK-KAVKAZ

March 12-19, 2003.

PROBLEM

PROSECUTORIAL BUSINESS: ARREST - MONEY - FREEDOM

Ex-lawyer Andrei Shakhnazarov approached the editorial office of "MK-Kavkaz" with a sensational statement: "Suspects in terrorism were released for bribes. I was a mediator between the relatives of those under investigation and the investigators of the prosecutor's office. The dollars received were shared honestly — among the three of us..."
But the most striking thing in the lawyer's statement is something else: he claims that today, people who have nothing to do with terrorism are being held in places of deprivation of liberty. Simply, some of those detained on suspicion did not have the necessary amount to "buy their way out"... So, the lawyer honestly and voluntarily laid out this information to the FSB, but it found no confirmation, and as a result, Shakhnazarov fell under criminal prosecution.

• I received my lawyer's certificate in Cherkessk on May 18, 2001, and immediately began working at legal consultation office No. 1. My first client was 18-year-old Eduard Kharatokov. (Not to be confused with the one already convicted in Pyatigorsk. - Ed.). There was simply a call from the republican prosecutor's office to the bar association saying that such-and-such had been detained, a lawyer was needed urgently, and the head of the association assigned this case to me. Kharatokov's entire face was covered in bruises and abrasions. He said that he was detained by SOBR [Special Rapid Response Unit] officers in one of the mountain gorges of Karachay-Cherkessia. He had a Makarov pistol with him. For about three days, according to my client, he was held at the FSB, where he was tortured. On his right leg, his toenails had been pulled out, and he also asked me to give him pills for a headache - they beat him on the head with a plastic water bottle.
• At the moment of detention, my client was in a car with three guys, one of whom had a pistol, which he handed to Kharatokov. The owner of the "Makarov" already had a criminal record, and he didn't need any new trouble. That's how, out of stupidity, my client was set up.
• Since I had to perform the functions of a defender, I was often at the UVD [Directorate of Internal Affairs] at KMV [Kavkazskie Mineralnye Vody]...

...tama Tlisova: "...there are two ways out - this can be stopped at the investigation stage - for this, 5 thousand dollars are needed. The same people who took my testimony will facilitate this. The 2nd way out is not to give them this, and the case will go to court... Talk to the person who will hand over this note (meaning Shakhnazarov - Ed.). He will explain everything to you: both our situation and the way out of it..."
According to the lawyer, he was modest, having no more than 10 thousand rubles from each client. The investigators were another matter.
* In the same six months, I paid them 16 thousand dollars and 100 thousand rubles. Sometimes...

...suicide. He explained his action to me this way: when he was being interrogated at the UVD at KMV, one of the operatives specifically opened the door to the corridor through which his wife was led in handcuffs.

The wife of the detainee herself tells about the terror from the investigative bodies:
* On that day, my husband was celebrating his birthday with friends. He was gone all day, and the next morning I called him on his cell phone. Some male voice said that he was in Pyatigorsk and that I shouldn't worry, some misunderstanding had occurred - he was detained... The next morning, only I didn't know then that he saw me being handcuffed. I was accused of possession and carrying of explosives. I didn't give any testimony because I simply didn't know what to say. And then they led me through some corridors... That's how I ended up in a cell. Besides me, there were two other women there, and then they brought a third one, who advised me to tell some kind of truth...
* How I could go through all these humiliations, only God knows! They kept me there for another month. And then they released me for lack of corpus delicti.

• Shakhnazarov continues, - perhaps he doesn't know about all the twists and turns of the release, - I met with Turlayev in the park, near the UVD. He told me to go up to his office now and hand the money to Solzhenitsyn. The first installment I received from the relatives - 5 thousand dollars - was placed in an empty "CASE" folder. Two weeks later, I handed the remaining 5 thousand personally to Turlayev in his "BMW" car for the termination of the case.

...his sister Maryam:
* When they detained my brother on suspicion of terrorism (bombing at the market in Stavropol. - Ed.), we were advised to contact lawyer Shakhnazarov.
* The lawyer named the amount needed for release - 4 thousand dollars and 20 thousand rubles personally to him for services. We sold our house and paid the lawyer this money.
* But a closed trial was held over my brother, and he is serving his sentence. Shakhnazarov began to hide, and when I accidentally met him, he assured me that he had handed the money to Turlayev and was not at all to blame for the lack of results...
* In short, the relatives of the detainees began to pester the investigators: how could this be, the money was handed over, but nothing was done! To which the "declassified" investigator suggested they write an official statement about the transfer of the sum to the lawyer; they, in turn, refused.
* And at this time, the lawyer, knowing what the brewed mess could turn against him, decided to confess to the FSB.

RICOCHET

So, on February 13, 2002, Andrei Adolfovich made an official statement to the UFSB of the KChR [Karachay-Cherkess Republic]. According to Shakhnazarov, his statement even...

Turlayev asked Solzhenitsyn to take the "documents" from me (the code name for money - "missing documents" - Ed.). And sometimes I personally brought them to Turlayev in his office. I just put an envelope or a bundle in an empty "CASE" folder.

ONE OF THEIR OWN AMONG STRANGERS

The "own man" was to become a mediator between the investigator and the relatives in the transfer of money. For this, Turlaev promised lawyer Shakhnazarov: "There will be no end of clients." As for Kharatokov, for "changing the charges," according to the lawyer, investigator Turlaev requested 8 thousand dollars. The relatives of the person under investigation did not have such a sum, and the lawyer refused him.

• In six months, I had 9 clients, - the lawyer continues. - Turlaev and his right hand Alexander Solzhenitsyn said simply: "The lawyer you hired won't help you, try to agree on a defense with Shakhnazarov." Money flowed in a stream for everything: for meetings, for release on bail, for closing the case... The amounts requested were different: from one thousand to ten thousand dollars.

From the letter of the convicted Rus-...

As already mentioned, the investigative team, which included Turlaev and Solzhenitsyn, was headed by Igor Tkachev. During his "cooperation" with the investigators, lawyer Shakhnazarov made a discovery:

• The scheme, as I understood it, is simple. During the investigation, everyone was detained indiscriminately. More than half had to be released. Turlaev asked me to convey the following to the relatives of the innocent: we will release them on bail for 3 thousand bucks, and then you add another one and we will close the case. That is, people were arrested who were absolutely uninvolved in any explosions, conspiracies, etc. And money was simply extorted from them.

My client Stanislav Barkashvili was detained by traffic police at a post. This person was not on the wanted list, which I later verified. Nevertheless, the prosecutor's office gave instructions to this post that such-and-such a car would be passing by and should be detained. An acquaintance lawyer approached me. He asked me to find out what could be done for his client Barkashvili - at that time he represented his interests. And he immediately explained that when he approached investigator Turlaev to talk about the client's case, he advised him to talk to me, saying there is such a Shakhnazarov and only he is able to resolve this issue.

My task was simple - to find out how much Barkashvili's freedom costs. I found out - he would be released from the walls of the detention center for 10 thousand dollars. The lawyer of the person under investigation decides to get out of the "game," terminates the contract with Barkashvili's relatives, and I immediately take on this case. In the pre-trial detention center, I learned that my client had made several attempts...

HOW ANDREI ADOLFOVICH QUARRELED WITH VASILY NIKOLAEVICH

Who knows how long the "strawberries and cream" between the lawyer and the investigators would have lasted if not for one incident. The brother and sister Semenov from Kabardino-Balkaria fell under the "suspicious eye" of the investigative team.

• For their release, Turlaev demanded 6 thousand dollars, - the lawyer continues. - Relatives of this amount were not found. Under pressure, we handed it over to me with a request to release Maryam first. However, Turlaev released Anzor. The Semenov relatives also made attempts through their own channels in terms of release, and they decided that Anzor did not get out through me. It turns out that I pocketed the money.

A similar situation occurred with the detainee Ruslan Koichuev. Stories...

...conducting operational actions where he was supposed to hand over "marked" bills to Turlaev. But it didn't come to that, because according to the law on the prosecutor's office, no special service has the right to interfere in the affairs of the venerable department. In short, all "misunderstandings" related to the department are resolved by the department itself. The result: "During the check, the arguments set forth in Shakhnazarov's statement were not confirmed, in connection with which the initiation of a criminal case was refused." This is regarding Turlaev and Solzhenitsyn. On March 26, a criminal case was initiated against Shakhnazarov himself under Art. 306 part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - for a knowingly false denunciation.

Let's try to summarize: we have no right to take the liberty of asserting whether Shakhnazarov handed over money to the investigators or not. This is known only to the prosecutor's office itself. The question is different. If such a practice really exists, then for some 3-5 thousand dollars, real terrorists who encroach on the integrity of the state may end up free. And this is, in essence, high treason. In all times and in all countries, the talk with traitors was short. And it is also possible that another thing is happening - speculation on the "Terrorism" article has been put on stream.

Sergey TROFIMOV.

P.S. Unfortunately, today's rules of investigation, and even more so their application in practice, are far from perfect. Many witnesses who have been in the role of a suspect, and their relatives, are scared to death of a repeat of this unpleasant and expensive procedure. They live in fear, in eternal expectation... Therefore, and only therefore, the names and surnames of some witnesses have been changed at their own request.