^{In the photo Dmitry Tereshchenko}

НАСТОЯЩИЙ МАТЕРИАЛ (ИНФОРМАЦИЯ) ПРОИЗВЕДЕН, РАСПРОСТРАНЕН И (ИЛИ) НАПРАВЛЕН ИНОСТРАННЫМ АГЕНТОМ «КОМАНДА ПРОТИВ ПЫТОК» ЛИБО КАСАЕТСЯ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ИНОСТРАННОГО АГЕНТА «КОМАНДА ПРОТИВ ПЫТОК» | 18+

In his response to Dmitry Teleshenko, Deputy Head of the Interior, Head of Police Ruslan Magomedov writes that he offers apologies for illegal actions of the police officers.  

After the protest rally in January 2021, Teleshenko applied to the CAT and told human rights defenders that he was seized by both hands and both feet by some people in civilian clothes and carried him to the police van. On the way, the crashed into a man who was standing full-back with Teleshenko’s head. In response to Dmitry’s request to put him on his feet, according to Teleshenko, one of the police officers hit his cheek-bone. After the apprehension, Teleshenko was taken to the police department where protocols on administrative offences were drawn up against him under part 1 of Article 19.3 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation (“insubordination to the legal demand of a police officer”) and part 5 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation  (“Violation of the established procedure of the gathering, rally, demonstration, march or picket organization or holding”).

Dmitry was apprehended and taken to the special detention room where he stayed for 48 hours. After four dismissals of claims to open a criminal case, the CAT lawyers applied to court. They asked to declare illegal the police actions related to applying physical force against Teleshenko during the apprehension and his delivery to the police department, as well as his detention in a special room at the department and then at the special detention room.      

In August 2021, the Leninsky District Court of Orenburg partially satisfied the lawsuit filed by the human rights defenders and declared illegal the actions of unidentified police officers who applied force while apprehending Teleshenko during the protest rally.    

Commentary by lawyer with the Crew Against Torture

“Actually, it is a separate story on how the police was dealing with our application on offering apologies. The Department of the Interior, as is their rule, forgot to offer apologies. We reminded them about this duty of theirs, after that an officer with the Anti-Extremist E Center called Dmitry Teleshenko for a conversation and was surprised when he came with his representative. Apparently, the conversation should have had a different format, and in the presence of the representative the operative had to adjust the course of the “conversation”. The police officer asked Dmitry in which format he would like to have the apologies offered. We informed that we did not object if the apologies were offered there and then verbally, as well as in written form at Dmitry’s address and the address of his representative. The operative answered that he had superiors and he had to have this issue agreed. Apparently, after this “approval”, police decided to offer their apologies in writing only”.