Faig Nagdaliyev, source of photo: https://vk.com/wfctorpedo

Today, on 4 June 2021, the Moscow City Court upheld the ruling of the court of the first instance which dismissed moral damage compensation claims of Faig Nagdaliyev, who was beaten up by two police officers, in August 2016. Lawyers with the Committee Against Torture, representing the interests of the victim, will be appealing against this ruling.

As we have previously reported, Faig Nagdaliyev applied to the Committee Against Torture with a complaint, stating that in August 2016 he was beaten up by the police officers after he gave them reproof for smoking at undesignated smoking point. According to Faig, on 25 August 2016 he saw a group of people who were smoking at the entrance to Taganskaya metro station. There were 8-10 of them and the majority wore police uniforms. Faig was surprised that the police officers were violating the Code of Administrative Offences in such an open manner. He approached them and made a comment on that. The police officers replied in a gross manner, after that an argument followed on how the law-enforcement officers should and should not behave. According to Faig, the dispute ended when one of the officers knocked Faig’s mobile phone from his hands when he was trying to take a photo of the law-enforcement officers, and then the policemen pulled his arms behind him, put him on his knees and beat him up, kicking at his head and chest. As a result, Faig was inflicted with closed craniocerebral injury, brain concussion, as well as numerous bruises and contusions.

According to Faig, after that he was apprehended and taken at first to the police premises at Taganskaya metro station, and then to the police department. As he was explained, it happened due to his attempt to take a photo of the police officers. In the end, Faig was released, but before that he was forced to write that all the injuries he received on his own, when he hit against the door of the metro train.

“On the same evening the police officers brought a cake to the Russian Football Union and apologized to the security officer at the check point”, – Faig remembers.

Nevertheless, Faig was convinced that apart from the cake and apologies to Russian Football Union security officer who had nothing to do with the incident, the guilty officers should be brought to responsibility established by the law for battery. For over a year he was seeking for justice at the Investigative Committee, however, the investigative authorities kept issuing refusals to initiate criminal proceedings which were subsequently quashed.

In the end, on 3 November 2017, during personal appointment with Head of the Chief Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Moscow Aleksandr Drymanov, the latter, having listened to Faig, ordered to open a criminal case against the police officers who beat him up. On 7 November, his order was implemented, and a criminal case was opened with regard to elements of crime under item “a” of Part 3, Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“abuse of office using violence”).

In the course of the investigation, two former officers of the Patrol-Guard Serivce at the Moscow Metro, who, according to Faig, applied physical force against him, confessed and repented. Aleksey Burulko and Nikolay Pervakov told the investigator how they hit Faig Nagdaliev several times without any legal grounds, and they fully confirmed the victim’s evidence.

In March 2018, the investigation was completed and the criminal case materials were sent to the Tagansky District Court of Moscow.

On 1 August 2018, judge Natalya Larina passed a verdict for former police officers Aleksey Burulko and Nikolay Pervakov – they were declared guilty of crimes under item “a” of Part 3 Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“Abuse of office using violence”). Aleksey Burulko was sentenced to three years and six months, Nikolay Pervakov – to three years and nine months, with serving the sentence in the standard security penal colony.

Shortly before the verdict was declared, the former police officers transferred 100 000 rubles to victim Nagdaliyev as a compensation of the damage inflicted by their crime. Either then, or later the defendants did not explain how exactly they calculated this sum.

The police officers and their lawyers did not agree to the verdict and applied the appellate appeals. On 23 January 2019, the Moscow City Court reviewed them and came to conclusion that, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, as well as the pre-sentence reports, the prison term identified by the first instance shall be shortened a little. As a result, Aleksey Burulko’s sentence decreased by two months down to three years and four months, and Nikolay Pervakov’s sentence – by one month, and amounted to three years and eight months of prison term.

In July 2019, lawyers with the Committee Against Torture applied to the Zamoskvoretskiy District Court of Moscow with a lawsuit to collect four hundred thousand rubles from the Ministry of the Interior as a compensation for moral damage inflicted to Faig Nagdaliyev by the crime of the police officers.

On 9 October 2019, judge of the Zamoskvoretskiy District Court Yana Shemyakina dismissed the claims under the lawsuit completely.

Appealing against this ruling took almost a year. The lawyers with the Committee Against Torture even applied to court with a claim to expedite the review of the appellate appeal, however, it was dismissed.

24 September 2020, the Moscow City Court upheld the ruling of the court of the first instance on dismissal of the claim for compensation of the moral damage to Faig Nagdaliyev. Lawyers with the Committee Against Torture appealed against this ruling.

At last, on 18 February 2021, the Second Cassational Court of the general jurisdiction quashed the appellate appeal of the Moscow City Court dated 24 September 2020 and submitted the case for a new examination, having agreed with the arguments of the lawyers with the Committee Against Torture.

Today, the Moscow City Court passed a ruling on awarding two hundred thousand rubles to Faig Nagdaliyev as a compensation for moral damage.

“Despite the fact that the court satisfied our claims under the lawsuit not in full scope, Faig is satisfied with today’s ruling and will not appeal against it”, – lawyer with the Committee Against Torture Adam Torosyan comments.