A convicted Rostov resident has secured recognition of the refusal to investigate complaints against security forces as illegal.

Violations were found in the actions of police officers from the Rostov Department No. 4 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Questions have arisen regarding how they handled investigations into criminal complaints filed by inmate Vyacheslav Pasechko, according to a response from the Rostov Department of Internal Affairs to the Rostov resident's appeal.

A document signed by Eduard Akhmedov, Chief of Staff of the Department of Internal Affairs, states that violations were committed during the review of four materials—one from August and three from October 2024. An internal investigation has been ordered. Disciplinary action will be taken against the police officers found guilty, 161.ru reports.

Vyacheslav Pasechko was detained in 2017 in central Rostov-on-Don. He claims two security officers planted drugs on him, beat him, and tortured him, demanding a confession. Ekaterina Krokhina and Artem Shelest testified against Pasechko in court. The former acted as a purchaser, and the latter as a witness. The Rostov resident claimed they were working for the police. Khalimov and Sergeev were later investigated. The latter went on the run, while the court found the former guilty of fabricating charges and torturing detainees. Their case was dubbed the "trainee case" in the media. However, Pasechko was not recognized as a victim. Incidentally, in Khalimov's trial, Krokhina and Shelest admitted to framing people for money for the benefit of OP No. 4 officers. In Pasechko's trial, they claimed not to know the police officers.

Pasechko's defense had previously been denied criminal charges against the police officers more than 16 times. According to the convicted man's relatives, all the refusals were identical—"word for word, comma for comma."

The operative who detained Pasechko, Roman Khalimov, was later found guilty of planting drugs, fabricating charges, and torturing detainees. The head of the department, Vladislav Sergeev, who was also involved in the case, went on the run. But Pasechko himself was not recognized as a victim.

The "Caucasian Knot" reported that on November 16, 2021, a court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced drug enforcement officers Roman Khalimov and Maksim Serdyuchenko to lengthy prison terms, finding them guilty under several articles of the Criminal Code, including abuse of office with the use of violence, fraud, and attempted drug trafficking. Khalimov was sentenced to 15 years and six months in a maximum-security penal colony, Serdyuchenko to 13 years and six months, and Andrei Kuraev, a Rostov resident involved in the case, to five years.