The criminal case with regard to the fact of tortures of Vener Mardamshin from Neftekamsk initiated on 12 December this year was transferred to further investigation to the second department of major investigations of the investigative office of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Bashkortostan – the web site of the regional investigative office of the Investigative Committee reported today.
(Photo: Vener Mardamshin)
Among other things, the site of the authority states: “After initiating the criminal case on abuse of office by the policemen the victim and the witness for this case were arrested following the decision of the court and the request of the Ministry of the Interior investigators on suspicion of committing a number of crimes, which are subject to investigation by the police authorities.
In order to check the version of the illegal detention and arrest of the mentioned persons in Neftekamsk and following the order of the Head of the Investigative Committee an investigative group of the Investigative Committee got under its way under the supervision of First Deputy Head of the Investigative Committee for the Republic of Bashkortostan Rim Akhatovich Gabdullin together with the head of the second department of major investigations and an investigator of this department.
According to the report of the republic investigative office of the Investigative Committee of Russia the prosecution authorities are checking (within their powers) the legal nature of the criminal proceedings, detention and arrest of the victim and the witness by representatives of the Ministry of the Interior.
Currently the investigative group is conducting urgent investigative actions aimed at checking violations of the constitutional rights of the citizens by the policemen. The question about another fact of office abuse in the actions of the policemen will be solved in the nearest future. The investigation of the criminal case is continuing.”
Let us remind you, that on 22 November this year Vener Mardamshin applied to the Committee for the Prevention of Tortures for legal assistance. He said that on 10 November this year he was captured by four men; they handcuffed his hands, put a plastic bag on his head, pushed into the car and drove him away in the unknown direction. According to Vener’s words, it turned out later that those were the policemen who took him to the local police department. After that they started beating him using truncheons and an electric shocker forcing him to confess to kidnapping of a woman. But the policemen’s attempts to get a confession to the committed crime from Vener were unsuccessful and they released him after taking an explanatory statement from him where he stated that he had been drinking alcohol with friends and had no claims to the policemen.
According to Mardamshin, an acquaintance of him helped him to get home. Vener’s wife called an ambulance, and the man was taken to the hospital in Neftekamsk, where he was receiving treatment until 21 November, and then was transferred to the hospital of Ufa. Totally, Mardamshin spent twenty seven days receiving hospital treatment. The doctors of Neftekamsk hospital registered the following diagnosis in the discharge summary of the sick person: “Concomitant injury, closed craniocerebral injury. Brain concussion. Concussion of cervical vertebrae. Closed compression fracture of the body of vertebra L1. Closed (old?) fracture of L1 spine vertebra on the right. Concussion of the left side of the pelvis. Both kidneys contusion. Gross hematuria. Numerous concussions, bruises, scratch marks and pinpoint wounds of the soft tissues of the head, body, upper and lower limbs. Post-traumatic ischemic neuropathy of radial nerve of the left forearm. Post-traumatic ischemic neuropathy of the fibular nerve of the left lower leg.”
On 12 November Gulnaz Mardamshina (Vener’s wife) applied to Neftekamsk inter-regional investigation department of Investigation Division of Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Bashkortostan with the crime report. A month later investigator of this department Andrey Nagornov made a resolution on initiating a criminal case based on the signs of the crime under the items “a, b” Part 3 Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the RF (“Abuse of office using violence and special equipment”).
When Vener was on medical rehabilitation receiving treatment at Orenburg health resort “Stroitel” policemen from Neftekamsk came there on 20 December. Mardamshin was arrested on suspicion of committing a number of crimes dated 12 November of the previous year within the framework of investigating the criminal case which has been suspended until recently.
As it turned out in the course of the proceedings of preliminary investigation conducted by the investigating group, the report of the criminal investigation department special agents dated 16 December this year (four days after initiating a criminal case upon the fact of the tortures) stating that Mardamshin was involved in perpetration of the investigated crimes became the reason for reopening this criminal case and arrest of Mardamshin.
On 21 December judge of Neftekamsk city court of the Republic of Bashkortostan Kuchura announced a verdict on restraining Mardamshin in the form of detention for two months; Mardamshin was charged with committing crimes under Part 3 Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the RF (“Robbery”) and items “a, c” Part 2 Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the RF (“Joyriding”).
As the human rights defenders found out on 20 December (on the day of detention of Mardamshin) and approximately at the same time a man who had seen Vener on 10 November with the signs of bodily injuries at the local police department was arrested. A criminal case has already been opened in respect of this person; allegedly, he was arrested near the house by the officers of Neftekamsk police conducting special investigating activities and they confiscated from this person narcotic drug weighing 1.66 grams.
The partner of the arrested person told the human rights defenders that her husband fearing that he would be face the problem of pressure because of the evidence that he had given was trying to leave the flat for three weeks; and right before he was arrested a local district police officer asked him to go outside for a conversation.
According to the information that lawyers of the Committee for the Prevention of Tortures have late at night on 23 December this man was released from the detention center after he had given evidence to the investigator of Neftekamsk interregional investigative department that on November 2016 he had spent the whole day at home and so he couldn’t have seen Mardamshin at the local police department. There is no information about this man’s whereabouts now.
In their turn the human rights defenders organized a complex medical and chemical examination of Vener Mardamshin which was conducted by the experts of Autonomous Non-commercial Organization “Forensic Examinations and Research Center.”
In their conclusion the experts of the Center pointed out, in particular, the following:
– “It was established that Mardamshin V.R. had the following injuries: closed craniocerebral injury, brain concussion. Concussion of cervical vertebrae. Closed compression fracture of the body of vertebra L1 (first lumbar vertebra). Concussion of the left side of the pelvis. Both kidneys contusion. Numerous concussions, bruises, scratch marks and pinpoint wounds of the soft tissues of the head, body, upper and lower limbs. Lower limbs crush syndrome with the development of acute kidney failure. Post-traumatic neuropathy of radial nerve on the left, post-traumatic neuropathy of the fibular nerve on the left;”
– “Closed compression fracture of the body of vertebra L1 (first lumbar vertebra) was the result of forced (intense) bending of the lumbar spine with further fixation of the body in functionally disadvantageous position and victim’s staying in the position of maximum bending of lumbar spine for a long period of time. As a result the first lumbar vertebra turned out to be significantly compressed by neighboring vertebrae for a long time which caused a compression fracture, i.e. fracture due to the compression of the vertebra;”
– “Bodily injuries received by Mardamshin V.R. constituted a danger for the life of the victim;”
– “The bodily injuries caused grievous harm to his health;”
– “At the time of the examination Mardamshin V.R. had numerous injuries in the area of the front surface of his left thigh. These injuries are similar to those typical of “electric marks”. In the area of the bodily injuries on the skin and tissues of Mardamshin V.R. there are signs of metalizing process indicative of the material of the conductor;”
– “There is a link between the explanations of the victim and the nature of the injuries concerning the way of the trauma’s origin;”
– “Due to the nature of the injuries that Mardamshin V.R. has and taking into account their multiplicity, localization and seriousness, and also considering the long period of the traumatic impact, it is impossible that he inflicted these injuries himself.”