In the Nizhny Novgorod region an ambulance was called to court for a man who claimed during the hearing that he was beaten up at the police department

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22 December 2022

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

On 16 October, Aleksandr Sharfutov was taken to the court of Vyksa from the police department, where he spent the whole night. According to the man, his face and clothes were covered with dried blood. When the judge asked him about the causes of the injuries, Sharfutov told him that a police officer applied an electrical shocker against him and one of the hits was in his face. The judge decided to call an ambulance, and the Investigative Committee which initiated a criminal case, got interested with the incident.

A 41-year old resident of Vyksa town Aleksandr Sharfutov applied to the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Crew Against Torture. He told human rights defenders that in 15 October he was returning home from a friend of his and, as he confessed himself, in the state of drunkenness. The man sat on a bench near his house and at that moment a white UAZ police vehicle stopped near. According to the man, the police officers came out of the vehicle and told him to get into the car. Aleksandr got into the car and was taken for a medical examination, and then to the police department of Vyksa. There, a protocol was drawn up on him for presence in a public place in the state of alcoholic intoxication and he was taken to the cell for the detained. 

According to Sharfutov, in the cell he tried to sleep, but it was cold and he started to bang with his feet against the door of the cell. A duty officer came, whom Aleksandr asked for a blanket or a jacket. According to the man, the police officers provided neither, and instead, they switched on the exhaust ventilation even more. Aleksandr started to bang against the door, again. The duty police officer stormed into his cell and started to hit him with an electrical shocker:   

«He was hitting my arms, feet, thighs. One hit was under the right eye. The wound was bleeding, and my cheek and clothes were in blood».  

Sharfutov’s battery was covered by the video surveillance camera of the police department.  

In the morning, according to Aleksandr, he was taken to the court with a blood-stained face. The blood dried, but they did not wash it off. The judge asked about the causes of the traumas and then Sharfutov told the judge about the battery with an electric shocker. According to the man, the judge decided to call an ambulance. Sharfutov was examined by the doctors, after that the court sentenced him to five days of administrative arrest for his presence in a public place in the state of alcoholic intoxication. Aleksandr was sent to the Temporary Detention Cell, and on 19 October he was taken to the investigator where he submitted a crime report. On the same day, the criminal case was opened. In addition, Sharfutov learned that the police officer submitted a countering statement on him for applying force against an authority representative, but his claim to open a criminal case was dismissed. It is known that the lieutenant was fired from the police for an offence discrediting the honor of a law-enforcement officer.       

The comment by the CAT lawyer 

«Often the police officers are not satisfied with the behavior of the apprehended, and the simplest way out is to punish them. This is not acceptable. Each police officer must realize that illegally applying physical force against the apprehended person, he will be held responsible. We shall continue to represent the interests of Aleksandr and insist that the culprit is brought to the criminal responsibility».

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