The Investigative Committee refused to open a case regarding the beating of Samara activists of Navalny's headquarters by the police

The Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee for the Samara Region refused to initiate a criminal case against activists of the local headquarters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Maxim Dementyev and Yegor Alasheyev, regarding the use of physical force against them by police department No. 5, reports . Radio Liberty

According to the publication, on April 2, the police detained the car of Alasheyev and Dementyev. They were taken to police department No. 5 of the Leninsky district of Samara. There, Lieutenant Colonel Salikhov hit and then strangled Alasheyev. The police threw Dementyev to the floor and handcuffed him.

According to Radio Liberty, the activists were released from the police station after the intervention of a lawyer. Doctors diagnosed Alasheyev with a bruised chest and signs of strangulation on his neck, and Dementyev with a bruised collarbone and a suspected concussion. Alasheyev recorded the incident with the policeman on video.

“The initiation of a criminal case under the articles of excess and abuse of official powers was refused, since the video presented by the applicants Alasheyev and Dementyev as evidence of the use of physical force by the police is not informative, and, accordingly, their words are not confirmed by anything,” said the official representative of the regional department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Elena Shkaeva.

Activists said they would appeal the refusal to initiate criminal proceedings.