The Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, assigned the task to study the issue of creating a unit within the structure of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to investigate cases against police officers and other security officials.

Photo: ITAR-TASS

According to the press service of the Investigative Committee, this department will specialize in considering complaints against the actions of police officers and investigating criminal cases against law enforcement officers, as well as employees of other law enforcement agencies.

A. Bastrykin’s order was a reaction to an appeal to him from a number of human rights organizations, which was published on the Internet. As the Investigative Committee explained, in their open letter, human rights activists asked the head of the department to allocate a special unit within the committee structure that would conduct investigations only against employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Service for Drug Control (FSKN) and the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN).

“Based on the results of the execution of the order, proposals on the most optimal structure and form of organization of the special unit will be reported to A. Bastrykin,” the Investigative Committee noted.

Let us recall that close attention to the activities of law enforcement agencies was paid after the scandalous incident in Kazan, when 52-year-old Sergei Nazarov died from torture in the Dalniy police department. Before his death, S. Nazarov managed to tell his relatives that the police had severely beaten him and raped him with a champagne bottle.

The resonant incident shook society. Rallies against police brutality were held in Kazan. As part of the case regarding the death of S. Nazarov, five employees of the Dalniy OP were detained, and the police department itself was disbanded. Police officers from Dalniy are undergoing re-certification.

The Investigative Committee intends to verify all citizen complaints against the Tatarstan police received since January 1, 2010. Until now. In addition, a commission from the central apparatus of the Russian Investigative Committee arrived in Kazan, which will conduct a comprehensive audit of the organization of work in the investigative department in the Republic of Tatarstan.

In addition, the Investigative Committee intends to check all statements of Russians who filed complaints against the actions of police officers. The department explained that this decision was due to repeated cases of police violence against citizens.

The Investigative Committee will create an “anti-police” department at the request of human rights activists