The Nizhny Novgorod Regional Prosecutor’s Office has initiated criminal proceedings into the cruel treatment of seventeen-year-old Dmitry Andronov.

This was announced to the press by first deputy prosecutor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Valery Tkachenko on 1 March.

So, the regional prosecutor’s office quashed the preceding disposition of prosecutor of Pavlovo V. Lebedev to dismiss the case.

The proceedings have been initiated under Article 285 para. 3 of the Criminal Code (Abuse of official power).

Besides, minor D. Andronov who is now being kept in the temporary detention center of Pavlovo City will be soon transferred to the remand prison (SIZO) of Nizhny Novgorod Region.

You may remember that the mother of Dmitry Andronov applied to the NN Committee Against Torture saying that her son had been beaten by police and prosecution officials of Pavlovo City, which in such a way had tried to get a confession from Dmitry.

Now the Committee is conducting an unofficial investigation into the matter. Experts of the Committee welcome the decision of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Prosecutor’s Office to initiate criminal proceedings, though, we underline, this was done after our experts had examined the complaint of Ms. Andronova, identified the witnesses to the beatings, and submitted the collected material to the regional prosecutor’s office. Besides, lawyers of the Committee sent regional prosecutor V. Maksimenko a statement, where they pointed to numerous violations of law made by the Pavlovo Prosecutor’s Office when considering the application of Marina Andronova.