On 5 June 2007 Vladimir Nazarov, a citizen of Kstovo (a town in Nizhny Novgorod region) applied for help to the NN Committee Against Torture. He alleged that on the evening of 2 June 2007, being in the yard of house no. 5 in Pobeda Avenue, he fairly reproached officers of the Kstovo traffic police who were busy with a traffic accident. The thing was that the police car was staying on the roadway with its doors wide open what blocked the movement of traffic, including the car in which Mr. Nazarov was going together with his friends – Mr. R. Trofimov and Mr. S. Labutin.

    According to Vladimir the policemen took his reproach for an insult and required Mr. Nazarov to leave the car. He obeyed and the policemen without any explanations put him in their car using physical force and a special device – handcuffs.

    After that the policemen brought Mr. Nazarov to the penalty parking lot of the Kstovo traffic police station where they pulled him out of the car, laid him on the ground and began beating him with their legs on his body. According to the applicant his hands at that time were fettered with handcuffs. At a certain moment one of the policemen stepped on Mr. Nazarov’s neck and, addressing the others, said: “Let us lower [degrade] him”. Fortunately his initiative was not supported by other “law enforcers”, however the beating continued until the policemen brought Mr. Labutin to the parking lot by force. As it came out the latter had also come to the traffic police station and taken pictures of the unlawful actions of the policemen with a camera of his mobile phone. The policemen seized the mobile phone from Mr. Labutin and deleted all the pictures in it.  

    Mr. Nazarov alleges that after that he and Mr. Labutin were delivered to the Kstovo District Police Station in a police car. On their way to the police station Mr. Nazarov received a phone call from his mother and managed to tell her that he was being beaten.

    In the police station the traffic policemen composed protocols of administrative offences under article 20.1 of the RF Code of Administrative Offences against Mr. Nazarov and Mr. Labutin but they put it down into the protocols that they did not agree with them. Then they were taken to the head of the investigative department who informed them that he had to detain them until a court’s decision because they did not agree with the content of the protocols.

    Mr. Nazarov alleges that being in the district police station he asked policemen to call for a doctor in order to register his bodily injuries in the form of numerous bruises, abrasions and wounds on his body. Besides, he had a terrible headache. However, according to Mr. Nazarov, nobody did what he had asked. 

    On 4 July 2007 justice of the peace Simonova examined the above protocols and adjourned the hearing until 9 June 2007.

    On that day the police released Mr. Labutin and Mr. Nazarov. On the evening the state of health of Mr. Nazarov got worse and he was taken to the Kstovo District Hospital in an ambulance where he was diagnosed with a cerebral concussion. In the hospital Mr. Nazarov repeatedly asked his doctor to register all his bodily injuries. Yet, the doctor, showing “profound knowledge” in law, all the time refused Mr. Nazarov saying that only his brain concussion is legally relevant. The forensic medical expert also refused to register his bodily injuries, saying that until he was in hospital it was the duty of his doctor.

Photo: Vladimir Nazarov

   The hearing of the case in a court of peace was set for 9 June 2007. A lawyer of the NN Committee Against Torture who is representing Mr. Nazarov and Mr. Labutin was present at the hearing. Besides, a newsperson of a local newspaper the Zemlyaki wanted to be present at the hearing, but she was refused admittance by justice of the peace Simonova without any reasons.

    The hearing was adjourned until 25 June 2007.

    The NN Committee Against Torture underlines that the described above events of 2 June is the version of Mr. Nazarov.

    At present lawyers of the Committee have finished the preliminary examination of Vladimir Nazarov’s allegations and come to a conclusion that his complaint is grounded. Many of the alleged circumstances were proved by relevant documents during the preliminary examination.

    On 13 June 2007 the NN Committee Against Torture started its public investigation into the events alleged by Mr. Nazarov. The press service of the Committee will inform about further development of the case.