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Alexander Bastrykin holds personal reception of citizens and listens to reports on investigation process of high-profile probes in Saint Petersburg

Today, during his working trip to Saint Petersburg, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation held a briefing where he listened to reports on investigation process for a number of probes currently being investigated by Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Regional Main Investigations Directorate.

Particularly, he was reported about the disclosure of murder preparations against a female real estate agent in Saint Petersburg and of a murder of Zeinalov family committed in 2005. The motive of that offence was an intention to eliminate competitors in the real estate market. The instigator and accomplices of the offence had already been identified. Also, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia was reported about identification of a person suspected in committing a number of offences against sexual privacy of girls aged from 9 to 14 who had attacked five minors in Nevsky and Krasnogvardeisky districts of Saint Petersburg in three hours. The convict was detained on hot pursuit with assistance of officers of Saint Petersburg Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Chairman of the Investigative Committee instructed to check the possible involvement of the convict in similar offences not only in Saint Petersburg but also in all places of his residence after his release from places of deprivation of liberty in 2017. Investigators of the Leningrad Regional Investigations Directorate reported about investigation process into an explosion at pyrotechnics plant “Avangard” caused by a technical irregularity, and about investigation of a probe into Leningrad region Cadastre Chamber Director and other persons accused in multiple bribe-taking. The Chairman of the Investigative Committee assigned to take measures to accelerate completion of investigation into these probes and their referral to the court.

Also the Chairman of the Investigative Committee carried out personal reception of citizens of the city of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad, Tver and Pskov regions. 29 applicants in total applied for the reception.

A significant part of the complaints concerned investigations into medical errors, investigation process of probes into murders and disappearances of relatives of the applicants and embezzlements in participatory construction.

A Saint Petersburg citizen addressed the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia with a request to take possible measures to bring to justice to a person guilty in the death of her sister in the Republic of Albania in 2017, who had drowned after receiving injuries from a speedboat. In order to provide legal assistance, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee instructed investigators to interact with the International Cooperation Directorate to consider carrying out a DNA expertise that would make it possible to clarify circumstances of the offence.

A Tver Region female citizen addressed the Chairman of the Investigative Committee with a request to take comprehensive measures to locate and arrest a man who had committed a grave offence against her 21-year-old daughter. The mother shared her sorrow and underlined that the violent killer who had tortured her daughter having applied over 400 strikes, according to the expertise, should receive the punishment he deserved. Investigators reported that the man was sentenced to be detained in custody in absentia, and issued an international arrest warrant. Alexander Bastrykin instructed the investigative team to check the possible involvement of the convict into similar offences.

A man from Sestroretsk applied for a personal reception of the Chairman of the Investigative Committee to ask for comprehensive measures for location of his father kidnapped in 2014. The investigators reported that in June 2018, during investigation into the probe, they had detected and suppressed activities of a conspiratorial organized criminal group under the leadership of the Chairman of international charity fund “Vityaz” M.Y. Spiridonov. The participants of the group had conspired for committing murders and kidnapping of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region citizens engaged in entrepreneurial activities for the purpose of demanding ransom for their release. Moreover, the preliminary investigation stated that in February 2014, the members of the criminal group, situated near one of the houses in Tokareva Street in Sestroretsk of Kurort district of Saint Petersburg, had kidnapped a man and demanded a ransom of $700,000 for his release. Not having received the demanded money, they had murdered the man and drowned the body in Sestra River. A complex of investigative activities and search operations aimed to establish all circumstances of the offence are currently carried out. The Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia instructed to engage specialists of the Main Forensics Directorate in search procedures for the body of the victim’s father.

A man from Pskov region applied for Alexander Bastrykin about a probe into a murder of his minor grandson. Investigators had pressed charges against his attending physician and launched a probe into negligence of the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the healthcare institution. The Prosecutor’s Office had decided to cancel the probe into negligence and to cease the probe into inflicting of death by accident. Those decisions had been sequentially challenged as provided for by the law in higher instances up to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, and all the appeals had been rejected. Alexander Bastrykin requested to carry out an additional forensic examination and suggested the Head of the Regional Investigations Directorate to return to the matter, examine the situation and take measures to secure the rights of the victim.

Another woman from Pskov Region addressed a claim on her disagreement with the conclusion of a forensic examination under a probe into the death of her infant child in a medical institution. The woman insists on holding another commission forensic examination in a different expert institution. Under an instruction of the Chairman of the IC of Russia, the probe has been referred to the Central Office of the IC of Russia for further investigation. In addition, Alexander Bastrykin instructed the Chief of Human Resources of the IC of Russia to withdraw the investigator’s rate from the Regional Investigative Directorate and to hold an official assessment into the progress on implementing his instructions on investigating of probes of said category.

A resident of Lugi of Leningrad Region asked to take control over an investigation into inflicting of death on accident to his mother due to the fact that it had been under investigation for a very long time. During the investigation, involvement of a surgeon of a medical institution was established, who had allowed violations during an elective surgery of the woman, which had entailed her death. Alexander Bastrykin ordered to finish the probe as soon as possible to avoid any further red tape.

In addition, the Chairman was addressed by representatives of initiative groups on the matter of Federal Law violations during the construction of apartment buildings in Leningrad Region. The Ministry for Internal Affairs of Russia works over the probes, but the applicants asked for them to be referred to the Investigative Committee. Alexander Bastrykin instructed the Chief of the Leningrad Regional Directorate of the Investigative Committee to file a motion to the Prosecutor’s Office for the probes to be referred to the Investigative Committee.

A female citizen of Saint Petersburg complained to the Chairman about the fact that investigators of the Kingisepp Interdistrict Investigative Department had stopped the investigation of her missing son since 2012. The investigators had reported that measures taken to find his body in the waters where he presumably had drowned had yielded no results. The investigation had been suspended for the suspected person had not been identified. The Chairman of the Investigative Committee instructed to re-open the probe and refer it to the Central Office for further investigation.

Following the personal reception of citizens, Alexander Bastrykin provided his subordinates with a range of specific instructions and notes on each complaint, stressing that the handling of the all matters in question would be under his personal control.

Official spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia S. Petrenko