Today, 28 June 2013, the Chairman of the INGO “Committee against Torture” Igor Kalyapin was questioned in the Investigative Department of Nizhegorodskiy district following Vasily Olnev’s criminal complaint. The “state human rights defender” seeks opening criminal proceedings against Mr. Kalyapin under Article 319 of Russian Criminal Code (insult of a representative of the authority).

(Pthoto: Vasily Olnev, photo by Natalya Ermakova)

The pretext for this complaint is Kalyapin’s interview to the newspaper “Kommersant”. The Chairman said, that he was “curious to have a look at those cowardly rascals who had adopted the law” (meaning so-called “Foreign Agents Law”).

In his complaint Vasily Olnev describes the emotions he felt overwhelmed with after reading Mr. Kalyapin’s interview as follows: “as a human rights defender, I was involuntary seized by anxiety seeing on the part of such a commonplace person this ostentatiously provocative demonstration of permissiveness, sense of absolute superiority over everyone else and of being “the highest judge” over legislators”.

“I feel ashamed for my Superpower!”, continues Mr. Olnev, and being guided by this higher emotion inspiring “a Russian national who voted for the above-mentioned individuals”, asks the Head of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for Nizhny Novgorod region Vladimir Stravinskas to support the idea that “characterizing federal legislators this way must not be tolerated”, and to order his subordinate investigating officers “to take immediate actions specified by the Code of Criminal Procedure” and basing on his criminal complaint.

As for Igor Kalyapin, here is his comment: “I don’t think a lawyer’s opinion is appropriate here. It seems to me, it would be more correct to choose medical examination. If Vasily Vasilyevich consents, we promise to ask relevant doctors for the expert examination. We have known Mr. Olnev for quite a long time as a defender of policemen charged with torture and bribery. They have his legal assistance at the expense of tax payers. This time he is going to protect some imaginary “constitutional rights of State officials for personal protection”. The summer is too hot, what else can I say”.