19 November 2019, 22:24
Residents of Vremenny win a lawsuit against Dagestani MIA
The Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan dismissed an appeal filed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) against the court's decision on the inaction of the authorities when accruing to residents of the Vremenny village the compensations for their houses destroyed during a counterterrorist operation (CTO).
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since September 2014, residents of Vremenny in Dagestan have been seeking compensation from the authorities for their destroyed housing. On March 12, 2019, the Untsukul District Court recognized the officials' inaction.
On September 18, 2014, residents of Vremenny reported that the settlement was blocked by law enforcers. By October 8, almost all residents left the place; in December 2014, a special commission announced that 52 houses in Vremenny are unfit for living.
Due to the today's verdict of the Dagestani Supreme Court, the residents of the Vremenny village will have the right to demand compensation from the district authorities and the republic's MIA for moral harm, explains Marina Agaltseva, a lawyer of the victims. "A question may arise: why is the today's decision of the Supreme Court of Dagestan so important, given that last week, the Russian government issued a resolution to pay money for damage to movable property? The decision of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Dagestan is important, since it allows residents of Vremenny collecting moral compensation from the MIA and the Untsukul administration for harm inflicted by the unlawful inaction of the authorities," said Marina Agaltseva as quoted in the today's report posted on the website of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".
On November 9, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a resolution instructing to pay the residents of the Dagestani village of Vremenny 58.3 million roubles for their movable property destroyed during the CTO.
On November 12, lawyers of the HRC "Memorial" announced their intention to demand payments for the destroyed houses. Five years passed since the CTO; however, dozens of houses remain unsuitable for living in the village of Vremenny; and more than 40 families still need housing. Some villagers succeeded in restoring their houses on their own, while the authorities did not provide them with any assistance.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 19, 2019 at 04:01 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
