News

The Urals Federal District Investigations Department of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has finished investigating a criminal case against former Chief of Chief of correctional facility N 6 of regional directorate of Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation Denis Mekhanov charged with abuse of office connected with receiving money from the convicts and their relatives and illegal manufacture of cold arms (part 3 of article 285 and part 4 of article 222 of the RF Penal Code).

According to investigators, Mekhanov created an illegal system to receive material valuables such as money, construction materials, domestic appliances from the convicts and their relatives disguised as charity to the correctional facility. At first the accused demanded the orderlies and leaders of squads of convicts and threatened to put then in a cell in case the order was not executed. In their turn the orderlies transmitted the demand of the administration to other convicts offering in exchange visits, transfer to other squads and milder conditions, or assistance in getting a parole. The orderlies took the convicts, who agreed, to the public telephone and under his control they called their relatives and said them that it was necessary to transfer money to the colony or to buy certain goods or construction materials. If the relatives agreed, the convict told them a telephone number of a person, who cooperated with the administration of correctional facility No 6. Later they called the mediator, who told them the number of bank account to transfer from 2 to 100 thousand rubles. Then the mediator disposed of the money on Mekhanov’s orders, bought construction materials, domestic appliances and other goods for the correctional facility.

This way the accused pressed the convicts and their relatives in order to get from them material valuables for the needs of the colony.

During the preliminary investigation 13 convicts and their relatives have been recognized as victims who suffered the total damage of over 300 thousand rubles.

All those actions were obvious for other convicts, who did not want to obey the illegal orders of the accused. Later those actions were the cause why the convicts took part in mass riots on 24 and 25 November 2012 in the correctional facility and its premises, which endangered public security in Kopeysk city district in Chelaybinsk Region and destabilized the normal functioning of the administrative and law enforcement bodies in Chelyabinsk Region.

In addition, the investigators during the searches in the correctional facility have found over 40 hand-made hunting knives, sables and daggers, part of which the experts recognized as cold arms. Furthermore, it has been found that correctional facility No 6 did not have a license for manufacture of cold arms, and therefore the investigators saw in Mekhanov’s actions signs of illegal manufacture of cold arms.

Mekhanov’s guilt of the crimes he’s accused of is also confirmed by the testimonies of the victims and witnesses from the convicts and personnel of the correctional facility, reports of searches and seizures, conclusions of handwriting and criminological expert examinations and other evidence.

The investigators have gathered enough evidence and the criminal case with the approved indictment has been sent to court to be tried on the merits.