Law enforcement authorities stubbornly ignore complaints by beaten woman
More than two years have passed since Alesia Sadouskaya, a young mother from the town of Maladechna, was reportedly beaten by policemen.
On New Year's night, the woman was in a night club “NEO,” where she said she could not find her cell phone. She asked the administration to call the police, but as a result the woman was taken to the police department, where she was subjected to violence and eventually charged with an administrative offence.
Mrs. Sadouskaya went through the courts of all levels – from the district court to the Supreme Court. She submitted statements to all levels of law enforcement agencies – district, regional and national. However, the authorities stubbornly ignore her statements and arguments. In particular, the Prosecutor’s Office of Minsk region four times abolished checks on the woman’s police violence reports.
A video posted online clearly shows that the police exceeded their authority.
“Law enforcement agencies do not want to admit the obvious things, that the police really committed serious violations. In such a case, they should be prosecuted. And then there is the question of the professionalism of our police,” says Alesia Sadouskaya. “But I’m still going to protect my rights and to insist that a proper investigation should be carried out into my beating at Maladechna district police department.”
Last week, the woman filed a complaint to the General Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus.
This is not an isolated case when citizens file complaints regarding beatings by the police. Investigations into similar reports are currently underway in Minsk and Lida.
