Zhanbulat Sembaev, a resident of Orsk, told the Anti-Torture Team that the police mistook him for a suspect and beat him. As human rights activists write, the man has been trying for a year and a half to get punishment for the security forces.
In March last year, Sembaev drove his friend from Orsk to the village of Ora, located 12 kilometers from the city. The man recalls that a Lada car followed them all the way. On the way back, Sembaev's car got stuck in the snow. When he left the salon, three pursuers in civilian clothes approached him.
“The men said they were police officers. They asked to unlock the phone, show incoming and outgoing calls. I did everything they asked. After that, they took away the phone and handcuffed me without explaining anything,” Sembaev told the Team Against Torture.
According to the victim, after a while another car drove up, from which a man in a cap got out. He threw Sembaev to the snow and started kicking him in the head and body. Later, as a resident of Orsk told human rights activists, he was put on his knees and began to be asked about people he did not know and about the railway. According to the «Team Against Torture», those about whom the security forces asked Sembaev were soon detained. They told the police that the man had nothing to do with them.
The victim recalls that the security forces kept him face down in the snow for an hour and a half, took him to the police and interrogated him. After that, Sembaev went to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with a broken nose and a suspected head injury.
According to the «Team Against Torture», the man filed a complaint about the crime with the Investigative Committee, but in a year and a half, its employees refused to initiate a criminal case three times. Human rights activists note that during this time, according to Sembaev's statement, no verification activities were carried out.
“However, all this time, the investigator repeatedly assured Zhanbulat that the investigation was ongoing. As soon as the CPT lawyers indicated their involvement in the case, the investigator resumed the check on Sembaev’s application and appointed an additional expert examination,” the lawyers of the Team Against Torture noted.