Yesterday, on 25 December 2014, Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court quashed the decision of the court of the first instance, which legitimized actions of the investigator who refused to initiate criminal proceedings based on the statement of a couple from Sormovsky district of Nizhny Novgorod who suffered from the police officers actions.
(Reported by «Seti NN» TV Channel: Lyubov Abramova, Dmitry Kamzolov and the security guards who allegedly attacked them)
As we have already reported, in February 2014 Nizhny Novgorod Office of the Interregional NGO «Committee Against Torture» has received an application from Mr Dmitry Kamzolov and his partner Ms Lyubov Abramova. According to them, on 10 February, in their own flat, they were severely beaten by private security guards.
According to Lyubov Abramova, before the attack she had had a conflict with a woman who had parked her car on the lawn so that people could hardly walk by. The women had a fight, and Lyubov’s partner Mr Kamzolov stopped it. Then the driver threatened the couple with some problems, saying that her husband was a cop.
Lyubov and Dmitry state that at about 8 pm someone rang at their door. Lyubov opened it, and two police officers entered their flat. They neither introduced themselves nor explained the reason for the visit. They started shouting «where is your man?!» Dmitry heard the noise and as well appeared before the door. Mr Kamzolov remembers an immediate blow in the face, so he had no time to say or understand anything, nor could he resist their actions. Then the policemen were beating them with hands and rubber truncheons, and handcuffed them in the end. «They explained nothing», says Ms Abramova, «they were beating us silently, with smiles on their faces». After that Dmitry was brought to Police Department No.8. The same day he was examined by a doctor in a local trauma center, who observed numerous bruises and abrasions. Ms Lyubov Abramova was as well examined and obtained a medical report.
Despite the fact that forensic investigation established impact marks from police truncheons on both Mr Dmitry Kamzolov and Ms Lyubov Abramova and their personal injuries as well, and the fact that the case has evidence from an eye-witness of his own parents’ battery – their grown-up son, none of that prevented the investigator and, subsequently, the judge from «not detecting» exceeding official authority in the actions of the police officers in terms of using physical force.
«He tried to hide in the apartment», – that’s how the police officers explained in the court the necessity of using truncheons and handcuffs against the husband and the wife. A bit later, since such explanation looked unconvincing contrasted with the incurred injuries, another version appeared in the case: that the couple, allegedly, let their dogs loose on the police officers: a six-months old puppy and a blind, recently surgically operated and because of that inactive, dog.
In the course of public inquiry lawyers of INGO «The Committee Against Torture» questioned the applicants and witnesses of the detention, obtained medical records which verify numerous injuries of both applicants. Human rights defenders also initiated psychophysiological study of Dmitry Kamzolov with the use of a lie detector. The results of this study verified that the version of events set forth by the victims, corresponds to the facts.
On 20 February 2014 human rights defenders applied to the Sormovsky District Investigative Department of Nizhny Novgorod region Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation with a report on crime against Dmitry Kamzolov and Lyubov Abramova. On 16 April the investigator refused to initiate criminal proceedings.
Lawyers of the Committee Against Torture, representing the interests of the applicants, were dissatisfied with this decision and appealed against it in the Sormovsky District Court. However the latter legitimized the issued ruling which refused to initiate criminal proceedings. Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court disagreed with this decision yesterday, presuming that the investigator did not answer to the main question in the course of pre-trial investigation: how exactly Kamzolov and Abramova got these numerous injuries.
Lawyer of the Committee Against Torture Sergey Shounin comments on the court decision: «We definitely are satisfied with this decision. Hopefully, a new inquiry of the incident circumstances will be led more thoroughly and answers to outstanding questions will be provided and all objective data will be taken into consideration, part of which was gathered as a result of our public inquiry».