Nizhny Novgorod investigators have resumed checking local citizen Aleksey Nikitin’s report on tortures with electric shocker in the police department. Let us remind that in November last year Nikitin applied to human defenders from the Committee for the Prevention of Tortures for legal assistance, and reported that he had been tortured to make him confess in stealing a handbag which his dog had found in the street. Currently the criminal proceedings against Nikitin have been closed and the case on the tortures has not been initiated yet.
(Aleksey Nikitin with the signs of bodily injuries)
A year ago in his application to human rights defenders Aleksey Nikitin told that on 4 November, when he was walking his dog, he found a ladies’ handbag and brought home. He found a mobile phone there and called the relatives of the owner of the handbag. In the course of the conversation it turned out that the owner of the handbag is an old woman who had been robbed some time before in the street. Having agreed to meet with the relatives to give the finding back, Aleksey with his wife and friends (a married couple) visiting them at that time went into to the street.
Then, according to Aleksey, the events were developing in the following way: the policemen turned out to be at the site of the agreed meeting (apart from the relatives) who arrested him and took him to the Kanavinsky police department where he spent a night in the сеll for the administratively detained. The following day, as Nikitin remembers, the police officer started to force him to write a confession about committing the robbery: after the words of threats he was hit with an electric shocker against his chest and groin several times. “It lasted for about 10-15 minutes. After that the police officer who I had been talking to hit me with an electric shocker against my neck from behind. And he said: “Now, think well.” And left the room. After that, having no desire to be physically abused again, I said that I was ready to give myself up,” – said Aleksey to the human rights defenders.
On 6 November Nikitin was released under the written pledge not to leave town, after that he applied to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Kanavinsky District as well as to the Committee for Prevention of Torture.
Within the framework of the conducted checking concerning Nikitin’s report the human rights defenders organized his examination at the regional office of forensic medical examination; besides, he was sent for examination to the urologist and cardiologist. The specialist concluded that Nikitin had “a bruise of the left orbit, haemorrhagic crusts caused by electric current on the back of his neck, on the front of his chest and on the skin of his scrotum”.
Besides, the human rights defenders representing the interests of the claimant reported on the crime to the Kanavinsky District investigation department of the Investigation department of Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation in Nizhny Novgorod.
On 4 February 2016 the senior investigator of police department No. 2 made a resolution to stop the criminal proceedings against Nikitin as it turned out to be impossible to prove his involvement in the committed crime.
As for Nikitin’s report on the tortures in the police department, investigating officers of the district investigation department refused to initiate a criminal case three times already.
– It is interesting that announcing the second “refusal” investigator Svetlana Samarina, having comprehensive instructions from the investigation division on conducting certain checking actions, just copied almost word by word the first resolution on the refusal to initiate the criminal case, therefore ignoring the instructions of the authorities, – points out lawyer of Committee for the Prevention of Torture Danil Chendemerov, representing the interests of Aleksey Nikitin.
No wonder, this resolution was quashed, but it did not stop investigator Samarina from refusing to initiate a criminal case again.
Today, at the personal appointment with Head of the Investigation Division of Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation for Nizhny Novgorod Andrey Vinogradov, human rights defenders learned that another “refusal” by investigator Samarina was quashed, and the materials were sent back for additional checking.
– In our today’s application to Mr. Vinogradov we drew attention to the red tape and abuse of legal process by the investigator conducting checking in relation to Nikitin’s report, and asked to bring both the investigator and his chief (for inappropriate control of his staff) to disciplinary responsibility, – Chendemerov said.