Nizhny Novgorod resident Yuriy Benediktovich, applicant of the Committee Against Torture, claims that officers of the Arzamas Department of Internal Affairs brutally beat him in order to make him confess to setting the local oligarch’s dacha on fire.

According to Benedictovich, he was detained by the police on 17 December 2010 near his mother’s-in-law house where the family was celebrating the birthday of the applicant’s 8-year old son – Mikhail.    

Yuriy came out of the house together with his son. At that moment three men in civilian clothes came out of a car parked nearby. They assaulted Benediktovich, knocked him down, handcuffed him and put inside the car. They did not introduce themselves or produced any IDs.  The unknown people simply hurled Benediktovich’s son to the side. He ran back home crying and said that the father had been kidnapped.  The boy has been stuttering since then and is afraid to go outside.  

Inside the car there were three officers of the Arzamas Department of Internal Affairs whom Yuriy knew, they had abused him in October 2010 in order to make him confess to racketeering and setting the house of certain Mr. Mukhin on fire. Mr. Mukhin is Benediktovich’s father’s neighbour.  The police told Yuriy that they would bring him to the Tesha and drown there, they threatened to fire if he tried to escape or turn him over to Mukhin’s people.  One of the officers took out his gun to intimidate Benediktovich.

In an hour approximately the car turned to the forest near the

village of Lomovky, the police threw Yuriy outside the car and ordered him to run, one of the officers pointed the gun at him. Benediktovich refused to do so and was several times kicked in the head and trunk. An especially zealous officer crushed his toes with the heelpiece. After that the police put Yuriy inside the car and took him to the Arzamas District Department of Internal Affairs. Following an interrogation, Benediktovich was taken to the remand prison of the Arzamas District DIA where he was examined by a medical assistant who sent him to the central hospital. The hospital doctor determined that Benediktovich had a closed fracture of the 3rd metatarsal bone head without a dislocation and a brain concussion. He recommended Yuriy in-patient treatment. (Later Yuriy was transferred to the neurosurgical department of one of Nizhny Novgorod hospitals where he is still staying).

Despite Yuriy’s serious injuries, a senior investigator from the Arzamas Department of Internal Affairs filed a motion to put him on remand. However, the Arzamas city court decided that Benediktovich’s written pledge not to leave the city was enough. The Interregional Committee Against Torture is going to thoroughly check Benediktovich’s application, ensure instigation of criminal proceedings and establishment of all fact.