The Investigative Committee initiated criminal proceedings based on the fact of the battery of manager of female football club “Torpedo” (Moscow) Faig Nagdaliyev by the police officers in August of last year. For over a year the investigators were checking Faig’s story, however, the criminal case was opened only after the personal order of Head of the Chief Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Moscow Aleksandr Drymanov, on 7 November of this year.
(Faig Nagdaliyev, source of photo: https://vk.com/wfctorpedo)
Faig Nagdaliyev applied to the Committee Against Torture with a complaint, stating that in August of last year he was beaten up by the police officers after he gave them reproof for smoking at undesignated smoking point. According to Faig, on 25 August 2016 he saw a group of people who were smoking at the entrance to Taganskaya metro station. There were 8-10 of them and the majority wore police uniforms. Faig was surprised that the police officers were violating the Code of Administrative Offences in such an open manner. He approached them and made a comment on that. The police officers replied in a gross manner, after that an argument followed on how the law-enforcement officers should and should not behave. According to Faig, the dispute ended when one of the officers knocked Faig’s mobile phone from his hands when he was trying to take a photo of the law-enforcement officers, and then the policemen pulled his arms behind him, put him on his knees and beat him up, kicking at his head and chest. As a result, Faig was inflicted with closed craniocerebral injury, brain concussion, as well as numerous bruises and contusions.
According to Faig, after that he was apprehended and taken at first to the police premises at Taganskaya metro station, and then to the police department. As he was explained, it happened due to his attempt to take a photo of the police officers. In the end, Faig was released, but before that he was forced to write that all the injuries he received on his own, when he hit against the door of the metro train.
“On the same evening the police officers brought a cake to the Russian Football Union and apologized to the security at the check point”, – Faig remembers.
Nevertheless, Faig was convinced that apart from the cake and apologies to Russian Football Union security who had nothing to do with the incident, the guilty officers should be brought to responsibility established by the law for battery. For over a year he was seeking for justice at the Investigative Committee, however, the investigative authorities kept issuing refusals to initiate criminal proceedings which were subsequently quashed.
In the end, on 3 November, during personal appointment with Head of the Chief Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Moscow Aleksandr Drymanov, the latter, having listened to Faig, ordered to open a criminal case against the police officers who beat him up. On 7 November, his order was implemented. Now the criminal case is in the proceedings of investigators of the department for investigating crimes committed by law-enforcement officials of the Chief Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Moscow. On 14 November Faig was declared a victim in this case.
“Now the criminal case is opened against unidentified police officers, – lawyer of the Committee Against Torture Anastasia Garina, representing the interests of Faig Nagdaliyev, comments. – However, Faig is putting forward concrete names and surnames. Yesterday, during the conversation with the investigator, the latter assured us that the real suspects were going to appear in the case shortly”.