A human rights activist announced the termination of a criminal case against a National Guardsman who beat a pregnant Irkutsk woman

Investigator of the Irkutsk Department of the Investigative Committee Anastasia Dmitrieva dropped the criminal case for abuse of power (clauses “a”, “b” of Part 3 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code) against National Guardsman Maxim Shishmintsev, suspected of beating pregnant Irkutsk resident Irina Pankova, said Svyatoslav, a lawyer for the Public Verdict Foundation. Khromenkov.

The human rights activist, in a conversation with Sibir.Realii, called the termination of the case arbitrary. The publication notes that, according to the conclusion of a forensic medical examination, Pankova received injuries to her hips, shoulders and abdomen precisely after Shishmintsev’s attack. According to Sibir.Realiya, doctors did not rule out that Pankova’s early pregnancy was interrupted due to beatings.

The incident occurred at the end of September 2018. The Pankovs said that employees of the Leroy Merlin store called the National Guard because of a light bulb that they accidentally forgot to pay for.

The arriving National Guardsmen used force against the couple. “They beat and kicked the pregnant woman—hematomas and bruises are clearly visible in the photo; one of them twisted her, put his knees on her chest, pressed her to the floor, and handcuffed her,” Khromenkov said.

The video recording of the incident shows Pankova lying on the floor and shouting: “Why are you kicking me?” A National Guard officer is standing next to the woman.

A representative of the National Guard claimed that Pankova herself attacked one of the fighters and kicked him. The press service of the department reported a criminal case for using violence against a government official (Article 318 of the Criminal Code), but this information was not confirmed .