Photo: It has taken Emil Dadashov from Azerbaijan battered in the Nizhegorodskiy District Directorate of the Interior half a year to ensure that the investigation authorities start criminal proceedings.

    The Nizhegorodskiy district court has received the case about the savage battery of Mr. Emil Dadashov from Azerbaijan performed by an officer of the Nizhegorodskiy District Directorate of the Interior. The Committee against Torture where Emil applied for help after the battery represents the victim’s interests.

Now the case against Sergey Biryukov, senior police lieutenant, investigator of the Nizhegorodskiy District Directorate of the Interior, is to be tried on the merits by the Nizhegorodskiy district court.   

The preliminary investigation has shown that defendant Biryukov 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).

The case about the battery of a foreign citizen was much spoken about. However, the investigation authorities preferred to ignore it. At first the Investigation Committee refused to start criminal proceedings and opened a criminal case only due to the complaints filed by INGO “Committee against Torture” to court. This happened seven months after the battery. Such position of the investigative authorities seems quite strange, to put it mildly.  It is worth saying that the Internal Security Administration of the Nizhny Novgorod region Directorate of the Interior where Mr. Dadshov had applied was prompt and accurate in conducting a check and providing its materials to the Investigation Committee.  The bill of particulars was approved by the Prosecutor’s office only at the end of December last year. Shortly the court is to appoint a preliminary hearing.