Investigation committee refuses to investigate beating of teenager by police
The Investigation Committee refused to open a criminal case against policemen over beating a teen in the town of Kalinkavichy.
The Kalinkavichy district department of the Investigation Committee issued a ruling refusing to initiative criminal proceedings for absence of criminally punishable acts in the actions by Kalinkavichy police department officers and two participants of a fight on 1 May, BelaPAN news agency learned from Maryia Kryvanohava, a chief inspector of the information and public relations office at the Homel region devision of the Investigative Committee.
Bear in mind that a video appeared on the Internet in May showing policemen holding a man in a puddle of blood before the eyes of hundreds of witnesses.
The Kalinkavichy district department of the Investigation Committee carried out an inquiry over a complaint by a district dweller, who reports about beating her underage son by policemen. “Participants and eyewitnesses of the conflict have been questioned, forensic tests have been carried out and all necessary inquiries have been held,” Maryia Kryvanohava stressed.
According to her, the inquiry revealed a 17-year old son of the claimer and a 20-year-old town dweller had a conflict that later developed into a fight in the park at 7 p.m. on 1 May 2012. The executive officer of the Kalinkavichy police department tried to stop the fight without using physical force, but the teen tried to continue the brawl, behaved aggressively also towards the policeman. The executive officer detained the guy and laid him on the ground. An aide to the duty police officer of the Kalinkavichy police department helped to hold the boy on the ground, the representative of the Investigation Committee says. Police did not use other physical force towards the young man, she says.
According to the information from the branch of the Central District Hospital, to where the teen was taken by ambulance, he was diagnosed with bruises of scratches of soft tissues of face and neck and alcohol intoxication.
Results of the forensic examination show the 17-year-old man had slight bodily injuries that caused no impairment of health. The other participant of the conflict had scratches and sores on his chest and forearm; the police executive officer had a scratch and sores on his left shoulder.
The Investigation Committee says the footage attached to the inquiry materials was taken after the conflict by two dwellers of the town and “shows just the statement of the fact the young man was held lying on the ground by police officers”. Actions by police officers were found legal, because they used physical force reasonably and in compliance with the law on the bodies of the internal affairs.
The materials of the inquiry were sent to the Kalinkavichy police department to find out if the participants of the conflict had committed an administrative offense.
