Sergei (Sergey) Lapin, also known by his radio communications

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

''Kadet'' ("

Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

"), is a former

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

who had served in

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

OMON OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо� ...

(special police detachment) from the

Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra (Russian and Mansi: Ханты-Мансийский автономный округ — Югра, ''Khanty-Mansiysky avtonomny okrug — Yugra;'' Khanty: Хӑнты-Мансийской Aвтономной � ...

. He has been convicted for the

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

and "disappearance" of a Chechen student.

Politkovskaya death threats investigations

In September 2001, journalist

Anna Politkovskaya Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (;, ; uk, Ганна Степанівна Політковська , 30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russian journalist and human rights activist, who reported on political events in Russia, in partic ...

published an article in ''

Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...

'' newspaper called "The Disappearing People", in which she wrote about the allegations connecting Sergei Lapin and his OMON colleagues to the torture of

Zelimkhan Murdalov Zelimkhan Murdalov was a student from Grozny, Chechnya, who left his home on 2 January 2001, saying he would return but never did. His parents tracked him down at the police station, where an official promised that he would soon be released, but ...

. Following the publication of this article, Politkovskaya received two letters containing threats to her life, apparently written by Lapin. The Office of the

Procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

of the city of

Nizhnevartovsk Nizhnevartovsk ( rus, Нижневартовск, p=nʲɪʐnʲɪˈvartəfsk) is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia. Since the 1960s, the Western Siberian oil boom led to Nizhnevartovsk's rapid growth from a small settlement t ...

in Khanty-Mansyski region opened a criminal investigation in October 2001 into Lapin’s involvement in threatening the safety of Politkovskaya and the investigation had been reportedly closed and renewed at least nine times. On October 7, 2006 Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in Moscow, bringing suspicions upon Lapin and his colleagues.

Torture trials

In January 2002, Sergei Lapin was arrested and charged in connection with the allegations of torture of Zelimkhan Murdalov in detention. Lapin was released pending trial in May 2003 because he was found not to be threatening to the public safety. His trial began in Grozny at the end of 2003, and at first he reportedly has not attended any of the hearings because he claimed he suffered a

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. However, according to reports, he was first dismissed from OMON, but later reinstated as a

in the city of

. Reportedly, Lapin was also awarded a medal "for protecting public order" accompanied by a letter signed by the

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. On March 29, 2005, in a rare ruling, court in Grozny found Lapin guilty of abusing authority and torturing Murdalov (including the use of

electric shock Electrical injury is a physiological reaction caused by electric current passing through the body. The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and duration of contact. Very small currents may be imperceptible or produce ...

s and dogs) and sentenced him to 11 years' imprisonment. On release, he will be banned from working for agencies under the

MVD The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; russian: Министерство внутренних дел (МВД), ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enfor ...

for three years. In addition, the court sent a special ruling to the head of the Khanty-Mansyski OMON, criticising the conduct of the OMON unit serving in Chechnya in broader terms. Another sentence, of 10.5 years in prison, was passed on him on November 27, 2007. In his last

plea In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...

to the court, Lapin did not plead guilty and regretted that he had appeared for the trial in 2003."Cadet" sentenced to 10.5 years in prison for torturing a Chechnya resident

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

, 27 November 2007 After Lapin's sentencing, several other Nizhnevartovsk policemen were also reportedly charged.

References

External links

Russian Federation: Russian police officer found guilty of crimes against the civilian population in the Chechen Republic

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, 31 March 2005
Politkovskaya's Murderers Divided into Three // The police, Putin's opponents and associates of Kadyrov
''

Kommersant ''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia ...

'', Oct. 10, 2006
Siberian police 'obstructing Politkovskaya murder inquiry'
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', November 6, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapin, Sergei Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People of the Chechen wars Russian police officers convicted of murder

Politkovskaya death threats investigations

Torture trials

See also

References

External links