НАСТОЯЩИЙ МАТЕРИАЛ (ИНФОРМАЦИЯ) ПРОИЗВЕДЕН, РАСПРОСТРАНЕН И (ИЛИ) НАПРАВЛЕН ИНОСТРАННЫМ АГЕНТОМ «КОМАНДА ПРОТИВ ПЫТОК» ЛИБО КАСАЕТСЯ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ИНОСТРАННОГО АГЕНТА «КОМАНДА ПРОТИВ ПЫТОК» | 18+
A guard named Fyodor Valko was suspected of stealing a conveyor belt at an abandoned factory, which he guarded. According to Mr. Valko, the policemen took him away from the house and brought Fyodor to the police station, where they beat him in the corridor. The doctor diagnosed him with a fracture of the processes of the spine and a closed craniocerebral injury.
Fyodor Valko, 41, has been guarding an abandoned agricultural enterprise in the village of Prikubanskiy (the Krasnodar region) since 2021. Prior to that, he worked as a tractor driver, but due to a leg injury he left that job. In August, a part of the conveyor belt disappeared at the factory where he works. The head of the enterprise called the police, who began to suspect Fyodor and his partner of that theft. As Mr. Valko recalls, the policemen came to him to search the house and the barn. Fyodor and his wife refused to let the law enforcement officers in, as they did not have a search warrant, and there were minor children at home.
Mr. Valko told the lawyers of the Crew Against Torture the following: «There was a conflict between me and the police officers. The local police officer pressed me with my back against the fence, grabbed my throat with his hands.»
As Mr. Valko and his wife did not allow the officers to enter the yard, Fyodor voluntarily went with them to the police station situated in the village of Novomyshastovskaya. As Mr. Valko recalls, while being in front of the entrance to the police station, he began to call the police duty unit from a mobile phone to complain about the officers’ actions, but the local police officer undertook an attempt to put Fyodor’s hands behind his back and to handcuff him.
«The crime unit officer came up behind me and began to choke me. I lost consciousness for a short time. When I came to my senses, I found myself lying face down on the ground, my hands were behind my back, they were handcuffed,» Mr. Valko said.
After that, the policemen took Mr. Valko to a deserted corridor, put him on a chair and, according to Fyodor, started beating and kicking him in the head and body.
«In pain, I fell off the chair to the floor, the blows continued. I lost consciousness, and when I woke up, they continued to beat me. The major took the chair I used to sit on by the legs and hit me twice with a metal frame in the back area.»
Mr. Valko, according to his recollections, once again lost consciousness from pain, and when he came to his senses they put him on a chair and left him to sit in the corridor. In the evening, the police took Fyodor to the Krasnoarmeyskaya district hospital. Mr. Valko lied to the doctors that he had received the injuries at home, as he was afraid of the revenge of the police. No documents on his state of health were handed over to him. Consequently, Fyodor was returned to the police station, where Mr. Valko was interviewed about the details of the theft; Fyodor denied his guilt, and this time the officers did not use force against him. Fyodor was placed in a cell for administrative detainees. In the morning, as the man recalls, he felt unwell and could not have breakfast due to nausea. On the same day, he was taken to the Krasnoarmeyskiy District Court of the Krasnodar region. During the hearings, Mr. Valko did not indicate that he had been beaten, as he was still frightened. He pleaded guilty to disobedience to police officers and was fined a thousand rubles; soon after, he was released.
Immediately after the court’s session, Fyodor went to the hospital, where he described his injuries. An officer from the local police department arrived at the hospital and questioned Mr. Valko. The doctors diagnosed Fyodor with numerous abrasions, bruises, hemorrhage in the eye and a closed fracture of the processes of three vertebrae.
Fyodor Valko
Fyodor filed a crime report with the Slavyanskiy interdistrict investigation department of the regional Investigative Committee. At the moment, it is known that the investigator seized video recordings from CCTV cameras, and, together with the forensic specialist, recorded and seized traces of blood found in the office of the police station.
The man’s condition worsened, he was hospitalized, being diagnosed with a closed craniocerebral injury. Fyodor underwent examination and treatment for ten days, and is currently on sick leave.
The CAT lawyers represent Mr. Valko’s interests during the official pre-investigation inquiry and plan to challenge the court’s decision, which found Fyodor guilty of disobeying the police officers.