26-year old Pavel Baronin applied to the Committee for Prevention of Torture with a complaint against the battery of the police officers from the Center for Struggle with Extremism.
(Photo: Pavel Baronin on the next day after the meeting with the police officers)
According to the law «On police», the first principle of its activity is observing human and civil rights and liberties. But that is according to our laws which on paper are almost the most progressive in the world. However, as it is described in the complaint of Pavel Boronin, who applied to the Committee for Prevention of Torture, the Center «E» officers were guided by totally different principles when they detained him.
The story that caused Pavel’s applying to the Committee, took place in May of last year. On that unfortunate evening Pavel was strolling with his friends in the Kuzminki park. There they bumped into a citizen of Uzbekistan, with whom they had a conflict. As a result Pavel and his friends beat him up, and having taken 400 roubles from him, went in the depth of the park.
Pavel said that in the park several men run into them, stroke them down to the ground and started to beat them up. As it became known later, the men turned out to be police officers.
«It hurt a lot and I was scared, I was afraid they would kill me. I felt totally devastated. Since I actively tried to cover my head with my hands, eventually they tied my hands behind my back with some wire. My hands were tied very tight, and because of that they immediately started to get swollen, and one of the attackers said with a laugh that «in an hour these might as well be cut off». After that they just left me lying on the cold ground. When I moved a little, a hit followed right away», – Pavel described.
Pavel claims that is how his apprehension by the officers of the 2nd department of the Chief Department for Struggle with Extremism of the Ministry of Interior of Russia, more commonly known as «E» Center, looked like. In the materials of the criminal case, initiated against Pavel and his friends, the process of apprehension is recorded with a lot less detail: «The victim with confidence identified them as persons who incurred bodily injuries to him and under the threat of a gun stole the money and the documents, after that the above-mentioned persons were detained». The report involves no additional details of the apprehension.
After the meeting with the police officers Pavel had to stay in hospital for two weeks. He was diagnosed with numerous hematomas, bruises of the face, upper shoulder girdle, soft tissues of the head, cerebral concussion. Up to now he is suffering from partial hearing loss.
Pavel and his friends confessed of their guilt for attacking the citizen of Uzbekistan, repented and got conditional sentences. The actions of the police officers have never been even checked for compliance with the law.
«Now the Committee for Prevention of Torture is trying to establish was really happened on that day in the park. We will have to find and question the eye witnesses of the incident, question all the parties of the conflict and insist that the Investigative Committee performs an effective check, which, by the way, has never been conducted», – the Committee’s lawyer Anastasia Garina informed.