It is not easy for a common man to communicate with state servants, especially with investigators and judges. Criminal Code, in which rights and obligations of the parties are described in detail, can be of help. But in practice its norms are just ignored — in Moscow it is happening everywhere, according to human rights defenders with the Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
Illustration: Anya Leonova / “MediaZona”
“MediaZona” offers the reader to put oneself in place of the lawyer/human rights defender, to whom Matvey Aristarkhov from Moscow applied for help.
Matvey told us that on May holidays he met with his friends and went to the park to grill some barbeque and to have a drink. Suddenly a police vehicle stopped near the company of friends who were having fun. The police officers did not introduce themselves and started to shout right away that it is strictly prohibited to make up fire there, let alone drink alcoholic drinks.
According to Aristarkhov, after that one of the police officers grabbed him by the neck and pulled him in the car. Matvey did not go and received a kick in the neck — when falling he painfully hit against the tree (later on the doctors diagnosed a brain concussion) and damaged his hand against the skewer which was lying in the grass.
You have some doubts in legitimacy of the police officers’ actions and decide to represent the interests of the victim from Moscow. Now, having the Criminal Code as a weapon, together with the applicant you are trying to make the culprits punished.