The Alsheyevsky district court of Bashkiria has conducted a preliminary hearing under the criminal case against two district police officers of the Alsheyevsky District Department of Internal Affairs accused of abuse of office.
The victim under this case is 40-year old Alsheyevsky district resident Ildar Zaydulin who applied to the Bashkirian representation of the Committee Against Torture alleging ill-treatment by the police.
CAT lawyers have conducted a pubic investigation revealing that the state breached Article 3 of the ECHR (prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment) in respect of the applicant.
On October 26, 2009 Ildar Zaydulin was going to the village from the station. Two district police officers Mardeyev and Akimbetov who were driving by stopped Zaydulin and saw that he was intoxicated. They decided to prepare an administrative offense protocol. However, Zaydulin said that he was going home and went away. Mardeyev and Akimbetov caught up with him, pushed him to the ground, handcuffed him and kicked several times on the face, chest and stomach. After that they put Zaydulin into the trunk of the police car and took to a desolate place several kilometers away. Then they made him get out of the trunk and prepared an administrative offense protocol under Article 20.21 of the RF Administrative Code “Intoxication in public”(!).
The beatings resulted in damage to health of low severity.
The Belebeyevsky Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigation Administration for Bashkiria instigated criminal proceedings under cl. “a”, p.3, article 286 of the RF Criminal Code (“abuse of office”) in connection with that incident. Officers of the Alsheyevsky District Department of Internal Affairs did their best to prevent effective investigation. They prepared and filed two false reports about crimes committed by Zaydulin, found and instructed a witness to give false testimony.
The prosecutor two times returned the case for additional investigation. This year the deputy prosecutor of the Republic submitted the case to court.
The Bashkirian Representation of the Interregional Committee Against Torture is going to ensure just prosecution of the perpetrators.