Investigator of the Investigative Committee Sergey Novoselov considered that the testimony of the “Krylya Sovetov” football club fan Denis Belyanin and the video record featuring the law-enforcement officers hitting the latter, is not sufficient to declare him a victim in the criminal case. Yesterday the Leninsky District Court of Orenburg declared this ruling to be legal. Lawyers with the Committee Against Torture, representing the interests of Belyanin, will be appealing against this ruling in the court of appeal.
On 4 October of this year a criminal case regarding the crime under item ‘a’, part 3, Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“abuse of office using violence”) was initiated regarding the fact of the battery of “Krylya Sovetov” football club fans. However, three weeks after there are no suspects or victims in the case.
As we have previously reported, on 2 September of this year in Orenburg in the framework of the 11th Tour of the National Football League a game between local team “Orenburg” and “Krylya Sovetov” from Samara took place. In the very end of the game an incident between the visitant football fans and law-enforcement officers occurred.
Numerous videos of the indecent were loaded in the Internet, one of them features law-enforcement officers putting the football fans faces against the wall with feet spread apart and kick them and beat them with truncheons. It is seen in the video record that the football fans did not offer resistance and did not attempt to flee.
Lawyers with the Committee Against Torture, having examined these video records, came to a conclusion that the actions of the law-enforcement officers amount to violations of federal law “On Police”, as well as have traces of crime under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“abuse of office using violence and special equipment”). Regarding this on 8 September human rights defenders applied to the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Orenburg region with a crime report.
On 11 September, human rights defenders also applied to the regional Investigative Department, but in the interests of a specific victim – “Krylya Sovetov” fan Denis Belyanin.
(Denis Belyanin)
Denis Belyanin from Samara applied to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture for legal assistance on September, 6. He reported on what happened to him on 2 September at the Orenburg stadium: “After the law enforcement officers brought ne beyond the audience sector, they forced me to stand on my knees, press my head against the concrete wall and bring my arms behind my back. After some time I was told to stand up. When I started standing, they hit me from two sides with truncheons and feet. I felt strong pain and my feet became numb as a result of the beating”.
According to Belyanin, he and several fans from Samara were taken to the City Police Department where they were forced to stand with their head pressing against the wall, feet spread apart and arms behind their backs. According to Denis, he was released only after he signed a document stating that he had no claims against the police officers.
When he returned to Samara, Denis applied to City Clinical Hospital No.1 named after Pirogov, where the doctors registered “a bruise, a hematoma of the left ankle-joint and foot”.
On 4 October of this year a criminal case was initiated regarding the fact of the battery of “Krylya Sovetov” football club fans by law-enforcement officers.
On 10 October Denis Belyanin applied to the investigative Department for the South Administrative District of Orenburg of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Orenbirg with a motion requesting to declare him a victim. However, investigator Sergey Novoselov refused to do it, pointing at the following: “In the criminal case there is no data which would give evidence of the possibility of declaring D.B.Belyanin to be a victim in the above-mentioned criminal case”.
Lawyers with the Committee Against Torture, representing the interests of Belyanin, appealed against this investigator’s ruling to the Leninsky District Court of Orenburg. However, the court took the part of the investigator, having considered this ruling to be legal.
– The investigator has video records available, where it is clearly seen how Belyanin, who was not offering any resistance or performing any illegal activities, is beaten up by law-enforcement officers, including at the area of his feet, and the investigator has the forensic medical examination certificate where bodily injuries of Denis are registered, and, lastly, the victim himself described all the circumstances of what happened to him on that day to the investigator in the course of interrogation, – lawyer with the Committee against Torture Denis Iskhakov says. – Why Mr Novoselov considers this data insufficient to declare our applicant a victim is a mystery to us. Of course, we will continue to appeal against this ruling and will insist on observing the rights of Denis to access to justice, because at the present time he is not able, for example, to submit motions, familiarize with rulings on assigning expert examinations or pose questions to the experts.