In summer this year the Bashkirian representation of the Committee Against Torture received an application from Veronika Rozkuliyeva. She claimed that she had been cruelly abused in the Alsheyevsky district Department of Internal Affairs in February 2010. The police had tried to make the girl confess to stealing a cell phone from one of café workers. For instance, police captain Shunkarov had many times stuck Veronika on the head and trunk with his fists and a rubber club.

Medical examinations showed that the following injuries had been inflicted to Ms. Rozkuliyeva during the beatings: a sharp-force closed craniocerebral injury, brain concussion and multiple contusions all over the body. 

It should be mentioned that a month after the tortures the police found the stolen phone with quite a different person who at the time of the theft had been in the same café where Veronika worked.  The representation staff conducted a public investigation which established the fact of tortures. On March 29, 2010 the Belebeyevsky Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigation Administration of the Investigation Committee under the RF Prosecutor’s Office for Bashkiria instigated criminal proceedings upon the fact of infliction of bodily harm under cl. «а» p. 3 art.286 of the RF Criminal Code (abuse of office). The investigator has already submitted an indictment to the prosecutor who is to approve it in order to terminate the investigation.  

Lawyers of the CAT are going to represent the victim’s interests in court.