Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

In Chita, Investigators Study the Circumstances Surrounding the Beating by Police of a Christian Teenager During a Raid in February

Trans-Baikal Territory

On 23 May 2020, 17-year-old Aleksandr Karpov was questioned by an investigator about the events of 10 February 2020. That day, during the raid on the believers, police officers dropped him on the floor, forced him to lie on his stomach and put his hands behind his head, hit him on the back, ribs and legs, causing him to bleed.

The events unfolded as follows. On 10 February 2020, at 06:00 am, Aleksandr heard a knock on the door. Not waiting for an answer to the question "who is there", he opened the door, thinking that it was his father who had returned from work. When he saw a group of masked people in the dark, he intuitively tried to close the door. The law enforcers forced him to the floor, put their hands behind his head and beat him - in front of his mother and younger sister. The young man had to "crawl" into the living room, where the law enforcement officers read to the family the court order to search their house. The search lasted 12 hours.

The lawyer in the interests of Aleksandr Karpov filed a complaint with the investigation department about the actions of law enforcers who broke into their house. The medical expert recorded the traces of beatings of the teenager, and a specialist went to the house to inspect the house, who seized the tights with traces of Aleksandr's blood, in which he was on the day of the search.

Due to the misinterpretation of the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of April 20, 2017, law enforcement officers continue to persecute Russian families of peaceful believers, and often children and teenagers suffer from this.

Case of Ermolaev and Others in Chita

Case History
Vladimir Ermolaev, Aleksandr Putintsev, Sergey Kirilyuk and Igor Mamalimov faced prosecution for their faith in 2020, when security forces carried out 50 searches in Chita and other cities in Transbaikalia. During the raid, several believers were detained and two were tortured. Mamalimov, Kirilyuk and Ermolaev were placed in a temporary detention facility, where they spent several days. At some point, four more believers were suspects in the case, but their criminal prosecution was discontinued. For holding peaceful religious services, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation accused Ermolaev, Putintsev, Mamalimov and Kirilyuk of organizing the activity of an extremist organization. Despite the fact that there were no victims in the case and there was no evidence of crimes against the state and the individual, in 2022 the court sentenced Vladimir Ermolaev, Aleksandr Putintsev and Igor Mamalimov to imprisonment in a penal colony for 6 to 6.5 years, and Sergey Kirilyuk - to 6 years suspended. The court of appeal upheld this verdict. The courts of appeal and cassation did not change this verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Trans-Baikal Territory
Locality:
Chita
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, he "took active organizational actions ... expressed in the organization of meetings, the organization of religious speeches and worship ... fundraising under the guise of donations... involvement of new participants... by carrying out the preaching work."
Court case number:
12002760023000001
Initiated:
January 20, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Trans-Baikal Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-10/2022
Court of First Instance:
Центральный районный суд г. Читы
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Марина Куклина
[i18n] Гособвинитель:
Ковыльченко Д. Г.
Case History
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