A Mariy El resident has been found able-bodied for military service with a fracture of the frontal and parietal bones, and cerebral haematoma. According to the young man, he was injured by a Special Police Forces officer.
In March the Mariy El representation of the Committee Against Torture received an application form Konstantin Almakayev, resident of the village of Sovietsky. According to Konstantin, on November 11, 2010 he met his friend who had completed his service in the Russian Armed Forces. The youngsters had a walk and went back home, having agreed to meet later in a café. In the evening Konstantin, his friend and a couple of other guys came to the café. Near the entrance they saw several men who were intoxicated and aggressive and decided to go to a different place. As they approached the main village square they saw the men that had been standing at the café entrance running after them. The men started saying that they guys had blocked the road and were impeding traffic. Then one of the men kicked Almakayev in the chest. Later Almakayev learnt that the man who had hit him was a local SPF officer. Konstantin fell on the ground, hit his head against the asphalt and lost consciousness. When he came to himself he could hardly understand what was going on around him. His friends lifted him up and brought home. Almakayev spent two days in bed and got up only to go to the toilette.
On November 14, 2010 Almakayev had to go to the Military Conscription Office. He came to the Conscription Office in his village and was transported to a recruiting station in Yoshkar-Ola. As Konstantin had a severe head ache he asked doctors to examine him. The doctors decided that the young man was fit for military service. Konstantin was told to go home and come again later for conscription.
The following morning Almakayev went to the district hospital and was admitted with a dispiriting diagnosis – fracture of the parietal and frontal bones. Later he was also diagnosed with a cerebral haematoma. Konstantin stayed in hospital till December 31, 2010.
The investigative authorities refused to instigate criminal proceedings under Almakayev’s application filed in the context of the public investigation carried out by the Mariy El representation. The investigator questioned the SPF officer who stated that he had not beaten anyone and had appeared in the square because there had been a quarrel among youngsters. Recruiting station doctors claimed that they had examined Almakayev because he had been complaining of a headache, but they had not revealed any injuries.
“We are engaged in a public investigation under Almakayev’s application and it would be incorrect to draw conclusions at this stage”, says Dmitry Yegoshin, head of the Mariy El representation of the ICAT. ”However, in this situation it appears that Almakayev’s rights have been violated. The doctor’s statements are leastwise striking. A person complains about a serious injury, and according to the medical record, he really has a reason to complain. And the doctors do not even send him for an X-ray. From the point of view of ECtHRС jurisprudence, the state might have violated its obligation to protect the life and health of its citizens.”
Specialists of the CAT intend to ensure an effective official check of the allegations and prosecution of the perpetrators.