Today, on 7 December 2020, lawyers with the Committee Against Torture submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of Alik Sharapov, who was affected during a protest rally in Moscow in summer 2019. He complained about physical force being illegally applied against him by Rosgvardiya officers, as well as about the fact that the Investigative Committee refused even to perform a check with regard to his application.
On 19 September 2019, Alik Sharapov from Moscow applied to the Committee Against Torture for legal assistance. He reported that on 3 August 2019 he was detained with the use of physical violence by Rosgvardiya officers near the Pushkin monument in Moscow, where in general turmoil law-enforcement officers took him for the rally participant.
“I was standing facing the monument, talking to the Rosgvardiya officer, – Alik recalls. – Suddenly, someone claps on my right shoulder and I hear behind my back: “Go, go”. I turned to the right and I saw two officers: one was standing to the left – it was he who clapped me on the shoulder; the second, after I turned and asked discontentedly: “Where?”, suddenly hits me with a truncheon at the right side of my head. Because of this blow I felt sharp physical pain and everything warped a bit. I cannot describe the following events precisely, as a series of blows with truncheons and, possibly, feet, were performed at my left hand and feet. I cannot tell the precise number and localization of the blows, but they were many and it hurt. As a result, I found myself on the ground with my face down. Then I remember the phase “Pack him”, after that I experienced a very sharp physical pain in my left arm”.
After the apprehension, Sharapov was taken to the Department of the Interior of the RF for Novogireyevo District of Moscow, where a report on administrative violation was drawn up under part 5 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation by a participant of a public event of the established procedure of gathering, rally, demonstration, march or picketing”). Later on, the court subjected Sharapov to a fine of ten thousand rubles.
On 4 August 2019, Alik applied to the first-aid station of the City Clinical Hospital No.13 of Moscow, where he was diagnosed with the contusion of the left elbow joint.
Later on, lawyers with the Committee Against Torture applied to a medical forensic expert. Based on the results of Alik Sharapov health examination, the specialist pointed out that Sharapov received a “blunt trauma of the left elbow joint with an injury of the left elbow nerve”. The specialist evaluated the damage inflicted to Sharapov’s health, as medium.
On 8 October 2019, lawyers with the Committee Against Torture applied to the Chief Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Moscow on behalf of Alik Sharapov with a crime report.
On 11 October 2019, Deputy Head of the Department for Investigation of crimes committed by law-enforcement officers with the Chief Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Moscow Stanislav Shkitin provided a response to human rights defenders’ application, having pointed out “the content of your application about the circumstances of the criminal actions committal is based on your suppositions and guesses”. Despite all the attempts to appeal against such a position in court, so far the lawyers with the Committee Against Torture have not yet succeeded in pursuing justice at the national level.
Today, on 7 December 2020, human rights defenders submitted an application on behalf of Alik Sharapov to the European Court of Human Rights.
“We managed to find the video records of the incident, witnesses who provided important evidence, as well as to perform an expert examination which indirectly confirmed the applicant’s testimony. All this taken together convinced us that Sharapov’s words are fully confirmed. But so far we have not yet succeeded in convincing the investigative authorities to even start the check, – lawyer with the Committee Against Torture Adam Torosyan comments. – From the moment of the incident four months passed. During this time the Russian Federation did not find it necessary to pay attention to the fact that the rights of its citizen, according to all indications, were violated by its representatives. Due to this we had to apply to international authorities”.