A criminal case is opened in Nizhny Novgorod with regard to the death of Aleksandr Tselischev, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod, who fell from the window of the Drug Enforcement Department with the Chief Directorate of the Ministry of Interior of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod region. According to the investigative authorities, Aleksandr jumped from the seventh floor due to “illegal psychological and physical impact” which was inflicted by the police officers.
As we have previously reported, on 13 January 2021, Lyudmila Tselischeva applied to the Committee Against Torture for legal assistance. He told human rights defenders that in the evening of 22 October 2020 her son Aleksandr Tselischev went to the fitness-club and did not return. According to Lyudmila, on the next day, police officers came to her house with a search, after that they informed her that her son was dead and asked her to come for identification. According to Lyudmila, she could not go for identification due to the shock and asked her relative and a colleague to do that, who later on told her that they identified Aleksandr, but he did not have a right eye and his face was embedded inward.
In addition, according to Tselischeva, she learned from the police officers that on 22 October her son and a friend of his were allegedly apprehended by Drug Enforcement Department officers and delivered to the Drug Enforcement Department with the Chief Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod region, where subsequently Aleksandr fell from the window.
On the same day, his corpse was delivered to the Department of medical forensic expert examination of the Avtozavodsky District. In the death certificate the expert indicated that the death was caused by “a blunt concomitant injury”, “falling from the height with doubtful intentions”.
Later on, the forensic medical examination established that at the moment of his death, Aleksandr was not in the state of alcohol or narcotic intoxication.
On 21 January 2021, lawyers with the Committee Against Torture applied to the Investigative Committee on behalf of Lyudmila Tselischeva with a crime report with regard to the death of her son.
On 10 February, Senior Investigator with the Investigative Department for the Nizhny Novgorod region of the Investigative Committee of the RF for the Nizhny Novgorod region Albert Urusov, based on the results of the conducted check, dismissed the claim to open a criminal case, having indicated in his ordinance that “no illegal or violent actions against A.S.Tselischev which resulted in his death, were carried out.”
In the course of the check, the investigator questioned the Drug Enforcement officer who participated in apprehension, as well as conducted a questioning of A.S.Tselischev in the room of the seventh floor of Drug Enforcement Office of the Chief Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior for the Nizhny Novgorod region. According to this police officer, he was registering Aleksandr’s explanation and at some point of time he turned to this work station. Then he heard a sound of an opening window, after that he realized that Tselischev jumped out of the window.
However, on 24 February, Deputy Prosecutor of the Nizhegorodsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Vladimir Mityurin passed a ruling in which he deemed the check conducted by investigator Urusov to be incomplete and demanded to quash the investigator’s dismissal and conduct an additional check with regard to the fact of Mr Tselischev’s death.
As a result, on 2 April, Albert Urusov initiated criminal proceedings under item “a” of Part 3, Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the RF (“abuse of office using violence”). In his ruling on opening a criminal case investigator Urusov pointed out the following: “As a result of officers of the Drug Enforcement Office of the Chief Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior for the Nizhny Novgorod region abusing their duties, i.e., performing actions evidently beyond their authority, namely, illegal psychological and physical impact on A.S.Tselischev, the latter fell out of the window of the 7th floor, as a result he died at the scene, which means grave consequences were inflicted”.
Today, lawyers with the Committee Against Torture received a copy of this ruling.
“We are satisfied with the fact of opening of the criminal case, as well as with declaring Lyudmila Tselischeva a victim, – lawyer with the Committee Against Torture Kristina Diogidze comments. – Now we will continue to present her interests in the framework of the opened criminal case, insisting that the investigative authorities perform in a professional manner and conduct all the necessary investigative activities”.