Medvedev says suspects' rights violated in Russia
RIA-Novosti
St Petersburg, 7 November: Russian Federation President Dmitriy Medvedev thinks that only particularly dangerous criminals should be remanded in custody pending trial.
"This is a special measure; it should be used in accordance with all the norms of legislation in relation to those who are a genuine threat to society," Medvedev said at a meeting in St Petersburg on Friday (7 November), which discussed ways to improve the work of the law enforcement bodies.
The president recalled that he had already spoken about this subject, during his speech to the Federal Assembly on 5 November.
Assessing the situation in Russia, the president said that in some respects crime was falling. This concerns serious and particularly serious crime, he said. However, the head of state said, "the figures by far not always reflect the actual situation as regards crime". Besides, there are problems related to crime solving.
"Of particular concern is the number of criminal cases that take a long time investigate. Deadlines for preliminary investigation are not met, and thus the rights of the accused who are kept in remand centres for long periods of time are breached," said Medvedev.
Not only does this lead to "the overcrowding of prisons, but it also creates big problems as regards future social integration of these people", he said.
"We know that conditions in prisons do not meet even basic norms, let alone the requirements of the law," added the head of state.
In addition, he said, "thousands of people are forced to integrate with the prison subculture".
In this respect, the president stressed that "it is necessary to remember how important it is to abide by the law in taking decisions on remanding people in custody".
"This is a special measure and it should be taken only in relation to the criminals that are a particular threat to society," Medvedev said.