The Investigative Committee quashed the refusal to initiate criminal proceedings based on the complaint from “Krylya Sovetov” football fan Denis Belyanin concerning applying illegal physical violence against him and assigned a new pre-investigative check. Lawyers with the Committee Against Torture, representing Mr Belyanin’s interests, note that the investigator’s work with relation to Denis’ application is being conducted very inefficiently.
As we have previously reported, on 4 October of this year a criminal case regarding the crime under item ‘a’, part 3, Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“abuse of office using violence”) was initiated regarding the fact of the battery of “Krylya Sovetov” football club fans.
On 2 September of this year in Orenburg in the framework of the 11th Tour of the National Football League a game between local team “Orenburg” and “Krylya Sovetov” from Samara took place. In the very end of the game an incident between the visitant football fans and law-enforcement officers occurred.
Numerous videos of the indecent were loaded in the Internet, one of them features law-enforcement officers putting the football fans faces against the wall with feet spread apart and kick them and beat them with truncheons. It is seen in the video record that the football fans did not offer resistance and did not attempt to flee.
Lawyers with the Committee Against Torture, having examined these video records, concluded that the actions of the law-enforcement officers amount to violations of federal law “On Police”, as well as involve elements of crime under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“abuse of office using violence and special equipment”). Regarding this on 8 September human rights defenders applied to the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Orenburg region with a crime report.
On 11 September, human rights defenders also applied to the regional Investigative Department, but this time in the interests of a specific victim – “Krylya Sovetov” fan Denis Belyanin.
Denis Belyanin from Samara applied to the Committee Against Torture for legal assistance on September 6. He reported on what happened to him on 2 September at the Orenburg stadium: “After the law enforcement officers brought me beyond the audience sector, they forced me to stand on my knees, press my head against the concrete wall and my arms behind my back. After some time, I was told to stand up. When I started standing, they hit me from two sides with truncheons and feet. I felt strong pain and my feet became numb as a result of the beating”.
According to Belyanin, he and several fans from Samara were taken to the City Police Department where they were forced to stand with their head pressing against the wall, feet spread apart and arms behind their backs. According to Denis, he was released only after he signed a document stating that he had no claims against the police officers.
When he returned to Samara, Denis applied to City Clinical Hospital No.1 named after Pirogov, where the doctors registered “a bruise, a hematoma of the left ankle-joint and foot”.
A month after the incident a criminal case was initiated regarding the fact of the battery of “Krylya Sovetov” football club fans by law-enforcement officers. On 10 October Denis Belyanin applied to the investigative Department for the South Administrative District of Orenburg of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Orenburg with a motion requesting to declare him a victim, however, investigator Sergey Novoselov refused to do it.
On 30 October investigator Sergey Novoselov issued a refusal to initiate criminal proceedings based on the fact of Denis Belyanin’s battery. However, on 21 December Deputy Head of the Investigative Department quashed this refusal, having pointed out that the “the refusal to initiate criminal proceedings was issued prematurely”. The materials were sent back to investigator Novoselov for additional check.
On the same day investigator Sergey Novoselov passed a ruling on severing the materials “containing the data on the presence of elements of crime provided by Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with relation to D.V.Belyanin”, having pointed out that “actions of the unidentified persons from the Special Police Force of the Department of the Federal Service of National Guard Force of the Russian Federation for the Orenburg region formally contain elements of crime under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation”.
“Investigator Sergey Novoselov is investigating the criminal case initiated based on the fact of applying illegal violence to “Krylya Sovetov” football fans. At the same time, he refuses to declare Denis Belyanin a victim, despite the fact that he suffered from unlawful actions of Rosgvardiya officers. Mr Novoselov did not even see fit to interrogate him in the framework of the criminal case, – lawyer with the Committee Against Torture Denis Iskhakov comments. – Sometime later Novoselov simply refused to initiate criminal proceedings based on the episode with applying violence by the Rosgvardiya officer against Belyanin. And so, in the end of December, when Novoselov’s boss quashed this refusal and assigned additional check, the investigator, severing the materials, is saying already that the actions of unidentified law-enforcement officers “formally involve elements of abuse of office”.
According to Mr Iskhakov, all the above shows that investigator Novoselov’s work is highly inconsistent and ineffective, which prevents Denis from full realization of his constitutional rights concerning access to justice. With this regard, the lawyer with the Committee Against Torture intends to insist on subjecting investigator Novoselov to disciplinary action.