Today, on 7 December 2017, the Kstovo City Court passed a ruling regarding Andrey Dvortsov from the Nizhny Novgorod region, declaring him guilty of committing the crime under item 2 Article 318 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“applying violence against the representative of authority, threatening to life or health”). The court imposed him a penalty in the form of three years of prison term in a standard security penal colony. As we have previously reported, Dvortsov himself accuses the policemen of then battery when they were arresting him.
(Andrey Dvortsov after the apprehension)
On 26 September 2016 Manshuk Dvortsova from Druzhny settlement in Nizhny Novgorod region applied to human rights defenders with a report on using force against her husband, Andrey, by the policemen.
As Mr Dvortsov clarified later on 9 August 2016 around 8 p.m. he was outside in the street with two friends. The man had drunk some alcohol before that. According to Andrey, when they were approached by three policemen who started to ask something, he ran away.
– One of the policemen caught me and performed a reap. I fell on the ground and was handcuffed from behind. After that they were beating me for a minute or so. At some point I fell unconscious, – Dvortsov remembers.
Andrey explained that he was working as a plumber. That day he was coming back from work wearing a uniform where he had a knife in one of the sleeves which is necessary for his work. As Andrey assumes, the reason for a sudden rage of the policemen was that when one of them was catching him by the sleeve and handcuffing him, he cut his hand.
Andrey spent the night at the police department. The next day he was given a statement with two fines for 500 rubles each for appearing drunk in a public place and disobedience of the legal order of the policeman.
On the same day he registered the received injuries in the local first-aid station: brain concussion, bruises on the face, left earflap, shoulders, anterior abdominal wall, left forearm, left scapular region, left cnemis, lumbar region, left knee-joint area, right hip, scratch marks on the right knee-joint area and parietal region.
On the next day Andrey’s condition got worse and he had to spend eight days in city hospital No. 39 of Nizhny Novgorod. After that he spent over three weeks having ambulant therapy.
During his treatment Andrey learnt about initiating a criminal case against him for attacking a policeman. It took four months for investigator Abanina to investigate this case.
Dvortsov himself also applied to the Investigative Committee with a complaint against the police offcers. The same investigator Abanina was assigned to perform the check of this complaint. By the present moment five refusals to initiate criminal proceedings have been issued, four of which were subsequently decleared illegal and quashed. Now the human rights defenders are appealing against the last “refusal”.
Today the Kstovo City Court has declared Andrey Dvorstov guilty of committing the 2 Article 318 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“applying violence against the representative of authority, threatening to life or health”). The court imposed him a penalty in the form of three years of prison term in a maximum security penal colony.
“Despite the inconsistency of the evidence of the police officers concerning the indicent, as well as the number of expert examinations, disproving the theory of the law-enforcement officers, the court still declared Andery Dvortsov guilty, – lawyer Aleksey Matasov, representing his interests, comments. – We definitely disagree with this court ruling and will be appealing against the verdict”.
“The European Court of Human Rights in its rulings has repeatedly indicated at inadmissibility of the situation when one and the same investigator investigates the applicant’s complaint of the police torture and the application of the same law-enforcement officers of the violence used against them. This is a grave violation of the principle of the efficient investigation, – lawyer with the Committee Against Torture Olga Sadovskaya emphasizes. – It will definitely be one of the solid grounds for application to the European Court of Human Rights”.