On 26 October the city court of Yoshkar Ola conducted a preliminary hearing of the case of recovering compensation from the Ministry of Interior for the death of Maxim Yadykov from Mary El after the entrance examination to Yoshkar Ola Special Police Force. ”7×7” reporter visited the hearing.
Dmitry Yalikov, Anatoly and Rimma Yadykov
Photo by Aleksey Skuratov-Belsky
The interests of the deceased person are represented by lawyer from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture Dmitry Yalikov. At the court he reported on the position of Anatoly and Rimma Yadykov:
— On 22 February the investigation passed a ruling on dismissing the criminal case initiated eight months before based on Part 1 Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — «infliction of death by negligence». The investigation did not establish the element of crime. However, it is known that in October 2014 there were two doctors with higher medical education in the special police force staff. On the day of the exam, on 9 October, they were not present there. There was only a soldier of the Special Police Force with medical education of the secondary level. However, he was not present not in the capacity of a medical worker. In 2015 some changes in conducting the examination for the applicants for the position in the special force were introduced: an ambulance team had to be present at each examination fight.
If we follow the materials of the criminal case, Maxim Yadykov’s exam ended up with four hematomas of his brain. This was the result of his examination fight. He got these traumas during the three-round sparring. Nobody argued that hematomas and cerebral haemorrhage caused his death. We believe that the administration of Yoshkar Ola Special Police Force violated the provision regulating the examination fight procedure. The document says that the applicant takes part in a three-round sparring with an instructor. The replacement of the Special Police Force fighter is possible in case if one applicant has distinctive advantages. The materials of the criminal case say that Maxim Yadykov fought with a new rival each round. This was a gross violation: there were no reasons to replace the soldiers of the Special Police Force. This is proved by the video record of the fight. It shows that the soldiers of the Special Police Force had distinctive advantages. It could be detected by the protective position of Maxim which he took at the beginning of each round and by the number of blows. The blows were struck by the instructors of the special force. In such a situation the fight should have been stopped in view of the distinct advantage of one of the sides. In the third round he fell unconscious: coma, reanimation, surgery, death.
The right to life is directly vested in the laws of the Russian Federation on the police, health care, the state Constitution, and the European Convention. We believe that the state should have taken all measures to save the life of Maxim Yadykov. At the examination instead of the level of preparation they checked the endurance of the applicant’s organism to the blows of the Special Police Force soldiers. Doctors could not save him: when Maxim was taken to the city hospital they said that the case was very serious, and the chances for him to survive were minimal.
The investigation did not find the Article of the Criminal Code that was violated. Applying for the position, Maxim was under control of the state. He arrived alive and came back as a dead man. If they had stopped the examination sparring at a proper time, Maxim would have come back home injured but alive.
In May 2016 Anatoly Yadykov wrote an application to the President of Russia and received a reply saying that the instruction on conducting the fights had some flaws in fact. In 2015 the requirements to providing medical assistance at the examinations at the police special force departments were tightened.
According to the representative of the defendant (head of the legal department of the Ministry of Interior for Mary El Sergey Kireev, the legal proceedings will be complicated:
— They say about compensation for the moral damage. But the compensation is possible only if the guilt of causing harm is proven. Article 100 of the Civil Code has a closed list of reasons for awarding compensations in exceptional cases. Your case is not indicated there. At the hearing of this case I will be referring to the resolution to refuse to initiate a criminal case. which was passed on 22 February. The Special Police Force employees were found not guilty.
The representative of the Prosecutor’s Office asked the defendant if the workers of the Special Police Force (Ministry of Interior) provided any help to Maxim Yadykov and his family. She meant both medical and material help, as the young man died immediately after the examination fight. The second question referred to the official apologies from the administration of the law-enforcement agencies to the parents of the deceased person.
Kireev replied that he did not have any information on any of those two questions. Rimma and Anatoly Yadykov who were present at the preliminary hearing replied that they did not receive any material help from the policemen. And the administration of the Ministry of Interior has not offered any apologies to them so far.
The father of the deceased Maxim Yadykov responded emotionally to the words of the representative of the Ministry of Interior:
— Three investigators were in charge of this criminal case. Each time they were replaced after announcing another resolution. The investigation is prejudged. How can one say that it is nobody’s fault? I do not trust the investigators.
Anatoly Yadykov answered the question of the judge why he does not appeal against the recent resolution of the investigators which states that the criminal case can be closed.
— Why didn’t I appeal during these six months? Now I’m experienced. I’m not going to hurry this time.
At this point the preliminary hearing on this case is over. The first hearing on the merits will take place on 1 November.
DmitryLyubimovSource: «7×7»