(The Patrol-Guard Service officers applying physical force and special equipment against Vladimir Telegin)
Lawyers of the Committee for Prevention of Torture applied to the regional Prosecutor’s Office and the regional Investigative Committee Department demanding to resume the check of the circumstances of the incident occurred between Vladimir Telegin from the Republic of Mariy El and the Patrol-Guard Service officers who applied physical force and special equipment against the former. The human rights application was caused by the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic, which declared illegal the protocol of Telegin’s resisting the lawful demands of the police.
As we have previously reported, Vladimir Telegin from Kozmodemyansk applied to the human rights defenders for legal assistance in July 2015. He said that on 15 March his car was stopped by the Patrol-Guard Service officers who asked him to participate as an attesting witness during the drawing up a protocol on another driver. However, when he came near the police car, he was asked to pass the test for alcohol intoxication. Vladimir declined and returned to his car.
As Vladimir recalls, three Patrol-Guard Service officers opened the door of his car and tried to pull him out without providing any demands and explanations. No grounds for his leaving the car were given. After that the Patrol-Guard Service officer sprinkled the pepper spray in Vladimir’s eyes and the police officers dragged Vladimir out the car, handcuffed him and hit him several times in the area of the back and low back.
After that the Patrol-Guard Service officers placed Telegin on the floor of the police car and took him to the reception of the Kozmodemyanskaya Central District Hospital. There Vladimir again declined to pass the alcohol testing. After that he was taken to the police department where he stayed till morning.
On the next day the Gornomariyusky District Court passed a ruling declaring Vladimir Telegin guilty of crime under part 1 Article 19.3 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation («Failure to obey the lawful demand of a police officer»), and was fined for 500 roubles.
On 17 March Vladimir applied to the Kozmodemyanskaya Central District Hospital, where the following injuries were registered: contusion of the left knee joint, extravasation on the skin of the left knee joint, circumaural area, left shoulder, rib cage, bruises on the skin of the hairy part of the head, both wrist joints.
On 19 March Telegin submitted a crime report to the Gornomariysky Interdistrict Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Mariy El Republic about the police officers using force against him. The investigator who refused to initiate the criminal proceedings, provided the following summary: «V.V.Telegin committed an administrative offence, failed to obey the lawful demands of the police officers, due to that the police officers used physical force and special equipment in accordance with the law. Later on V.V.Telegin was hold administratively liable».
The human rights defenders appealed against this refusal at the Prosecutor’s Office bodies due to incompleteness of the check. However, all of the complaints were dismissed: allegedly, Telegin committed an administrative offence that is why the Patrol-Guard Service officers used physical force and special equipment in accordance with the law.
In summer Vladimir complained against the ruling of the Gornomariysky District Court which found him guilty of an administrative offence. As a result the regional Supreme Court quashed the District Court ruling due to unlawfulness of the protocol which is a ruling document in the administrative case. In the end the regional court came to the conclusion that the protocol which was drawn up with the grave violations of the law (absence of attesting witnesses signatures and confirmation of explanation of Vladimir’s rights to him), cannot be considered the evidence of the offence.
«Due to the decision of the court we submitted the applications to the regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigative Committee demanding to resume the check of Telegin’s complaint about the police officers using physical force and special equipment against him. In the course of the conducted check the investigator will have to legally evaluate the Partol-Guards Service officers actions, who, as it is seen in the video record, pulled Vladimir Telegin out of the car, used physical force and special equipment, in our opinion, without legal grounds, – lawyer of INGO «The Committee for Prevention of Torture» Dmitry Yalikov emphasized. – The Partol-Guards Service officers could have had a right to pull Vladimir out of the car, if the procedural protocols had been drawn up on Vladimir, who would have failed to obey the lawful order to leave the car or tried to get away in it. According to item 70 of the Partol-Guards Service Administrative Regulation a Partol-Guards Service officer can only ask the driver to leave the vehicle. Therefore the investigative authority must once again check the crime report taking into account new evidence, including taking into account the quashing of the court ruling which declared Vladimir guilty of administrative offence».