News

Alexander Bastrykin held an appointment in Moscow on 8 February 2017. Among the complainants were 11 members of an initiative group of the parents whose children had died in the tragedy on Lake Syamozero in Karelia in the summer 2016.

The Chairman heard out the parents and told them in details about the progress of the investigation into the tragedy and steps being taken by investigators to prevent such disasters in future. For full, impartial and thorough investigation, the case has been taken over by the Major Cases Directorate of the Investigative Committee. In addition to already prosecuted persons, the investigators are going to give legal assessment to the actions of all officials involved in the tragedy and to check if they are to be blamed for negligence. The Chairman has ordered a sanitary and document tests to check the cost, amount and safety of services provided by OOO Park-Hotel Syamozero. Mr. Bastrykin personally supervises the investigation.

The investigation of the incident on Lake Syamozero has demonstrated yet another time that private camps, non-commercial organizations, tent camps and camps that run programs posing potential risks are need to be closely watched by state authorities. To ensure safety of children the investigative Committee has offered a number of initiatives which are now reflected in the Federal law “On amendments to certain laws of the Russian Federation to provide rights of children for holidays and improvement of their health, as well as to ensure protection of their lives and health”. Respective requests have been filed with core agencies to eliminate contributing factors to the crime on Lake Syamozero.

According to the investigation in the death of 14 children in the children’s summer camp of OOO Park-Hotel Syamozero, the owner and director of the company and the camp Yelena Reshetova, coordinator (head) of the camp Vadim Vinogradov, instructor Valery Krupodershchikov were charged with provision of unsafe services entailing death of two or more people by negligence under Part 3 of Article 238 and endangerment under Article 125 of the RF Penal Code. In addition, a criminal case against ambulance paramedic at ER of Suoyarvi central district hospital Irina Shcherbakova has been finished and referred to court. The woman did not reported a call from a drowning child asking for help to emergency services, concealed the fact that there was such a call and did not put it into the call log.

During the appointment the Chairman also received residents of Ryazan Region and Krasnodar Territory and heard out a member of the RF State Duma. They complained about procedural decisions made by Investigative Committee’s offices.

Following the appointment the Chairman gave explicit orders to heads of territorial investigative authorities and assumed personal control over concideration of all complaints and applications.

Acting Head of Media Relations                                                                                                                  S.L. Petrenko