Police coverage
The head of the Investigative Committee, Bastrykin, stood up for the SVO member who was beaten in the 78th police department of the Central District of St. Petersburg and ordered to initiate a criminal case on this fact. Today it is already known that the department may be checked for involvement in organizing illegal migration, but the history of the department makes it clear that its employees have been involved in scandals more than once.
Defense of honor
Criminal case under clauses “a” and “d”, part 3 of Art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) (exceeding official powers with the use of violence) was initiated by the Investigative Committee of St. Petersburg after Alexander Bastrykin I saw a message on social networks about “illegal actions” against a SVO participant. The director of the Russian Investigative Committee stood up for the St. Petersburg resident Leonida Lepeshkinato whom the police used force.
Local residents became victims of police brutality. They held a rally against illegal migration near the migration department – they stood with posters. The participants called their action “against the importation of masses of migrants from Central Asia and Transcaucasia into Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism).” On the posters there was a photograph of one of the terrorists who killed defenseless people in Crocus.
The police did not like the picketers; they were detained and taken to the 78th police department. According to one of the detainees, Ilya Stepanov, they were kept in the department for about 5 hours, and then two people in civilian clothes came to them and began to ask what they had done. After this, the detainees were taken to the upper floors of the building on Chekhova 15, where there was another group of people in civilian clothes, who, according to the old tradition of the security forces, did not introduce themselves. Further, according to one of the victims, they were insulted in every possible way, they tried to hit them in the face with a rubber dildo, they threatened to rape them, and throw them into a cell with the same migrants. Then they took away their phones and tried to unlock them by pressing their fingers against the screen. Then they took me to different offices and, according to their words, they beat me. The next day, the court sentenced one of the detainees, Ilya Stepanov, to 7 days of arrest for holding an unapproved picket. Second, Artem Morozwas released from the police department, having issued a summons to the military registration and enlistment office.
The news of what happened instantly went viral on social networks and telegram channels. The public believes that this situation occurred due to the fact that the head of the 78th police department Ismailov Vasif and his staff: Lieutenant German Gadzhiev and captain Aslan Ortanov people from diasporas and the department’s reaction to detainees is connected precisely with this.
Moral Character
The Sledkom also reported this in its message:
“Information was posted on social media that in St. Petersburg police officers, including those of Azerbaijani nationality, beat up a member of the SVO”the department said.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said the day before that they had not received any official complaints in this regard, but according to messages on social networks, an inspection would still be carried out, and Department 78 was ready to defend its honor and dignity in court, if necessary.
Rumors immediately began to spread that the prosecutor’s office had allegedly canceled the decision of Bastrykin’s department to initiate a criminal case. But there were no official reports on this matter.
In 2013, the department became the “hero” of press publications because of the story with the St. Petersburg woman Victoria Istomina. She claimed that she was beaten by employees of the 78th police department, and specifically by a certain Lieutenant Vorobiev. The incident occurred on the afternoon of August 7 near house No. 12 on Mayakovsky Street in the center of St. Petersburg. Doctors diagnosed the woman with a brain contusion, damage to internal organs, beatings of her arms and legs, assessing the injuries as serious harm to health. The beating, according to her, happened because she refused to show the police documents, since he was not a traffic police officer and did not explain the reasons for his interest in an ordinary city woman. She was forcibly dragged from the car without any charges being brought against her other than that she refused to obey the police officer. After she was taken to the department, she was released within half an hour. The victim went to the emergency room and was hospitalized. There are no known legal consequences for the lieutenant today.
But already in 2018, the Central District Ministry of Internal Affairs lost the claim to another victim. In July 2018, the Primorsky Court of St. Petersburg rejected the police’s claim against the publication “My District”. The Ministry of Internal Affairs filed a civil lawsuit because, in their opinion, the publication of a publication about the torture of a pregnant woman in the 78th police department damaged the reputation. The police wanted to oblige “My District” to remove the article and collect 10 thousand rubles from them. In the fall of the same year, the police filed an appeal to the St. Petersburg City Court, but were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, scandalous clashes between the 78th department and the St. Petersburg press have happened before. In 2016, there was a story with a Kommersant photojournalist, who reported that he was strangled and insulted in this department after being detained at a rally where he was photographing protesters. Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) Vladimir Kolokoltsevthen took this issue under personal control.
Today the Ministry of Internal Affairs officially announced that, “An investigation has been ordered into the published information about possible illegal actions on the part of police officers. The issue of carrying out measures to protect the honor and dignity of employees of internal affairs bodies is also being resolved.”
For his part, Bastrykin instructed the acting Head of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg Oleg Bobkov submit a report on the progress and results of the investigation of the initiated criminal case – it will be put under control in the central office of the Investigative Committee.
In addition, information has already appeared on the Internet that the security forces of the department may be connected with the illegal legalization of migrants. For example, there are suspicions that the account to which the phone number of the services is linked, they managed to find out that the account to which the captain’s number is linked Aslana Ortanova, appeared in the Uzbek chat for migrants “Asia_Turon_spb”. This chat advertises various services for migrants. In particular: services for obtaining a patent, registration with the Federal Migration Service and other similar things for working and living in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism). It is still unknown whether this information will form the basis for further procedural verification. But it is known that the chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee has been developing the “migrant topic” for a very long time and shows an increased interest of his department in all the violations and crimes committed by foreign guests against the residents of the country, and especially the two capitals.