Interview

“There is no adaptation without remorse”

In the opinion of Head of Dagestan Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee ALEKSEY SAVRULIN the adaptation committee should consider the applications from only those ex-fighters against whom the investigation has been completed and who have fully admitted their guilt. He told about that to the Kommersant correspondent in Makhachkala YULIA RYBINA.

- There was a serious conflict between law enforcement and officials at the last meeting of the committee for adaptation of former members of illegal armed organizations. Is a compromise between you possible?

- Of course, we have to look for a compromise, but at first we should determine the status of the adaptation committee. At present the committee considers, including repeatedly, applications of persons who do not cooperate with investigators and do not admit their guilt. This way, the latest meeting discussed the repeated request of Nariman Mirzamagomedov who fought to the last ditch against law enforcement and then threw a grenade at them. At the meeting he said that he had not fired at the militants and wanted to kill himself with the grenade. So it appears as if the militants were injured by the bullets ricocheting from the air!

In addition, during investigation it might be established that Mirzamagomedov participated in other crimes endangering lives of law enforcement officers, in terrorist attacks, murders of priests. If the committee at the very beginning decides on lenience, and then it turns out that this man had committed another especially grave crime it will simply discredit itself. That is why I’m asking the cases to be considered by the committee only after the person was brought to final charges.

Head of department of committee activities support Shamil Mutaev in my opinion wrongly interprets ideas of “remorse” and “admitting the guilt”. Remorse is a feeling of regret for ones actions. Admitting the guilt is open and honest speaking about one’s actions. Remorse is a broader notion, it includes both admitting one’s actions and one’s feelings toward the committed crime and the situation the accused finds himself in. But to reject obvious facts ensured by certain evidence and not to admit one’s guilt means not to have any remorse about one’s unlawful actions and without remorse there is no adaptation.

Fulfillment of all these conditions and procedures will allow while hearing the case in the court to take into account the committee’s request on reduction of jail term or milder sentence to the convict, that is lenience and that will conform to the RF Criminal Procedure Code.

- Your opponents believe that the committee is mostly a political weapon designed, firstly, to favor the members of illegal armed organizations to change their views and beliefs, realize senselessness of their actions, cease armed fight and, secondly, to stop the reinforcement of such organizations by new members. Do you think it is possible to reach these objectives without deviation from the norms and requirements of the RF Criminal Procedure Code?

- If somebody thinks that committee is a political weapon they, must be, don’t quite understand the situation inside the republic. Those who want to stop extremist and terrorist activity go out the forests by themselves and surrender to law enforcement. In this case we cannot see the obstacles for adaptation. But if a person surrenders only after he has run out of fire he will never change his views... Naturally, the committee has to work. Even if only one rebel surrenders over a year it’s worth it. But the inflow of new members to illegal armed organizations has not abated, so it is premature to speak about its preventive function.

- The activity of the Dagestan Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee is severely criticized for not solving big murders.

- To criticize the Directorate one should have enough information about its work. In general the Directorate works efficiently and figures indicate – better than in previous years. For example, investigators over four months have sent to the court 100 criminal cases more than in the similar period last year. It should be also taken into account that there are a lot of grave and especially grave crimes committed in the republic. Over the last 12 years, there have been 26 murders of priests in Dagestan, 18 of which are solved which is 70%. The percentage of solving the murders of journalists is lower, but such murders are mostly contract ones and carefully prepared. The contract murders are hard to solve not only in Dagestan, or in Russia, but in the world.