Local investigative bodies inform of a second refusal to open a criminal case

On 8 September, the Investigative Committee for the Chechen Republic informed representatives of human rights organizations that following a procedural check, a decision had been made to refuse to open a criminal case into the death of Madina Umayeva on the basis of Article 24(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code - the absence of a crime. This is the second refusal to open a criminal case. To date the case materials have not been made available for review.

The Main Investigative Directorate replied that materials of the investigative check into the death of Madina Umayeva had been examined

On 11 August 2020 the Main Investigative Directorate for the North Caucasus Federal District sent a reply in which it reported that the materials of the investigative check into the death of Madina Umayeva had been examined, following which a recommendation was made to the Chechen Investigative Committee to overturn its decision not to open a criminal case, which was issued on 21 July 2020. A recommendation was also made to carry out specific pre-investigatory actions. However,
the letter stated that there were no grounds to believe that the personnel of the regional department of the Investigative Committee in Chechnya were “personally invested, directly or indirectly, in the results of the pre-investigative check.” Therefore, the request to transfer the investigation to the Main Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the North Caucasus federal district was rejected.

22 human rights organizations appealed to the Russian Investigative Committee to open a criminal case into Madina Umayeva’s death

On 3 July 2020, 23 leading Russian and international human rights organizations appealed to the Russian Investigative Committee to move the investigation from the Chechen Republic to the federal level in order to ensure its maximum independence, and also to open a criminal case into Madina Umayeva’s death.