The defendant – senior lieutenant of the police, investigation officer from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nizhegorodskiy district Directorate of the Interior of Nizhny Novgorod Sergey Biryukov – denies his guilt.

    This morning the Nizhegorodskiy district court of Nizhny Novgorod chaired by judge Pyryev started hearings under the case of Emil Dadashov from Azerbaijan who had been savagely battered by police officer Sergey Biryukov. The victim’s interests are represented by lawyer Yuriy Sidorov from the Committee against Torture. Mr. Dadshov applied to the Committee after he had been unlawfully detained on 31 March 2008 by the Nizhny Novgorod police, placed in a remand prison and battered by officer Biryukov.

  The preliminary investigation showed that defendant Biryukov had acted intentionally, contrary to his duties, without an order issued by his heads and abusing his powers; he got into the cell for administrative detainees where Mr. Dadashov was kept.  When Mr. Dadashov refused to give the officer a cigarette, the latter kicked him once on the body and hit him on the head with his head. The police officer is charged under cl. «а», «b» p.3 art. 286 of the RF Criminal Code (abuse of official powers with violent treatment).

During the hearing the court defined the order of evidence submission, read out the bill of indictment and questioned the victim – Emil Dadashov. Defendant Biryukov claimed that he disagreed with the charge and pled innocent.  

Soon – on 11 February 2009, at 9 a.m. – the hearings will continue. It is planned to question prosecution witnesses.

The Committee against Torture invites mass media to the hearing.